\ 


CENTRAL  AND  WESTERN 


MINNESOTA 


A    PRELIMINARY    REPORT. 


WARREN  ,UPHAM 


77 


iJHAL    II I r 

•nil':  rmjEC"nox  OF 

PROF.    N,  II'.    WINCHELL, 

Of  the  Sic  vV//. 


[From  the  General  Eeport  of  Progress  for  the  Year  1879,] 


SAINT  PAUL  : 

THE   PIONEER   PRESS    COMPANY. 

1880. 


/1ANITOBA 


Total    area     83,531    Square    miles. 


With   the   Author's    Regard, 


From   WARREN    UPHAM, 

Assistant  on  the  Geological  Survey  of  Minnesota, 

MINNEAPOLIS,  MINN. 
Please  acknowledge  receipt. 


THE  GEOLOGY 


OF 


CENTRAL  AND  WESTERN 


MINNESOTA 


A  PRELIMINARY   REPORT 


BY 


WARREN  UPHAM, 

\  \ 

ASSISTANT  ON  THE   GEOLOGICAL  AND  NATURAL   HISTORY   SURVEY   OP  THE 
STATE,  UNDER  THE  DIRECTION   OF 

PROF.   N.   H.   WINCHELL, 

Of  the  State  University. 


[From  the  General  Eeport  of  Progress  for  the  Year  1879,] 


ST.  PAUL: 

THE   PIONEER  PEESS   CO 

1880 


•   -> 


PRELIMINARY  REPORT 

OX   THE 

GEOLOGY  OF  CENTRAL  AND  WESTERN  MINNESOTA. 

BY  WARREN  UPHAM. 


The  area  here  to  be  described  was  explored  during  the  summer  and  autumn 
of  1879.  It  lies  on  the  west  side  of  the  Mississippi  river,  and  has  this  stream 
for  its  border  30  miles  along  the  north-east  side  of  Wright  county.  At 
Clearwater,  60  miles  north-west  from  Saint  Paul,  the  north-east  boundary 
of  this  area  leaves  the  river  and  runs  west  50  miles,  to  the  south-east  corner 
of  Pope  county ;  whence  it  extends  120  miles  due  north,  to  the  north-east 
corner  of  Becker  county,  five  miles  south-west  from  Itasca  lake.  The 
northern  limit  of  this  exploration  is  a  line  drawn  from  the  last  point  78 
miles  west,  to  the  Red  River  of  the  North,  which  it  strikes  19  miles  north 
from  Moorhead  and  Fargo.  On  the  west  the  boundary  is  that  of  Minnesota 
for  130  miles,  following  up  Red  and  Bois  des  Sioux  rivers  and  along  Traverse 
and  Big  Stone  lakes.  On  the  south-west  it  is  the  Minnesota  river  in  its 
south-east  course  from  Big  Stone  lake  to  its  northward  bend  at  Mankato, 
140  miles ;  this  limit,  however,  being  crossed  so  far  as  to  include  both  sides 
of  the  trough-like  valley  in  which  this  river  flows.  Thence  the  border  is  at 
the  east  side  of  Le  Sueur,  Scott,  Carver,  and  Wright  counties  ;  reaching  75 
miles  from  south  to  north.  The  extreme  length  of  this  area  is  250  miles, 
this  being  parallel  with  the  upper  part  of  the  Minnesota  river,  its  south- 
west boundary  ;  while  its  average  width  is  about  65  miles.  It  thus  embraces 
approximately  16,000  square  miles,  or  one-fifth  of  the  State. 

In  their  order  from  north-west  to  south-east,  the  twenty-two  counties 
included  in  the  field  of  this  report,  are  as  follows  :  Clay,  Wilkin,  Traverse, 
Becker,  Otter  Tail,  and  Grant,  principally  drained  by  the  Red  river;  Big 
Stone,  Swift,  Chippewa,  Renville,  Nicollet,  Sibley,  Carver,  >and  Scott, 
bordering  Minnesota  river;  with  Stevens,  Douglas,  Pope,  and  Kandiyohi, 
also  drained  in  large  part  into  this  river  ;  and  Meeker,  McLeod,  and  Wright, 
drained  principally  by  the  Crow  river,  which  joins  the  Mississippi  at  Dayton. 
The  exploration  of  the  topography  and  geology  of  this  large  tract  within  a 
single  year  has  been  made  possible  by  the  similarity  of  contour  and  the 
great  extent  and  depth  of  its  drift  deposits,  and  by  the  very  narrow  limit? 

M105104 


within  which  the  underlying  ancient  rocks  are  exposed.  These  exposures 
have  been  found,  with  one  exception,  only  along  the  bottom  of  the  valley  of 
Minnesota  river,  and  in  the  valleys  of  a  few  of  its  tributaries,  near  their 
mouths,  where  channels  100  to  200  feet  deep  have  been  excavated  in  the 
drift. 


TOPOGRAPHY. 


The,  g^eaier  part,;  probably  three-i'ourths,  of  this  area  has  a  moderately 
undulating-  surface,  which lies  in  broad  swells  of  various  extent,  height  and 
direction,  some  of  them  prolonged,  but  generally  without  any  uniformity  in 
trend,  while  others  are  oval  or  nearly  round.  The  highest  portions  of 
adjoining  undulations  vary  from  a  few  rods  to  a  half  mile  or  more  apart ; 
and  their  elevation  is  sometimes  5  to  15  feet,  again  20  to  30,  or  even  40  feet 
or  more,  above  the  depressions,  to  which  the  descent  is  usually  by  very 
gentle  slopes.  These  hollows  have  a  contour  that  is  like  that  of  the  swells 
inverted,  being  mostly  wide,  and  either  in  long  and  often  crooked  courses, 
of  unequal  depth,  variously  branched  and  connected  one  with  another,  or 
jn  basins  from  one  to  one  hundred  acres  in  extent,  which  have  no  outlet  but 
are  surrounded  by  land  5  feet  or  perhaps  10,  20,  or  30  feet  higher  upon  all 
sides.  The  small  swamps  which  fill  these  depressions  are  called  slougJis  or 
marshes,  the  former  name  being  most  in  use'upon  the  prairies.  Many  other 
depressions,  which  differ  from  the  foregoing  only  in4heir  greater  depth  or 
area,  contain  bodies  of  water,  which  vary  from  a  few  hundred  feet  to  five  or 
ten  miles  in  length.  All  these  are  called  lakes ;  and  the  term  pond,  which 
would  be  applied  to  these  in  the  north-eastern  United  States,  is  here 
restricted  to  reservoirs  made  by  dams. 

Glacial  Origin  of  Superficial  Deposits  and  Contour.  The  portions  of  the 
earth  upon  which  natural  lakes  abound  are  further  characterized  by  surface 
deposits  of  clay,  sand,  gravel,  and  boulders,  mixed  together  in  the  same 
mass,  which  is  called  till,  boulder-clay,  hardpan,  or  unmodified  drift.  The 
rock-fragments  are  of  very  diverse  material  and  origin,  having  been  gathered 
from  ledges  that  are  in  place  in  widely  separated  districts.  The  direction 
in  which  these  boulders  and  pebbles  have  been  carried  is  from  north  to 
south,  or  to  the  south-east  or  south-west,  throughout  the  northern  United 
States  and  in  adjoining  British  territory.  In  these  and  all  other  drift-covered 
regions  the  bed-rocks  are  marked  by  parallel  scratches  and  furrows,  called 
striaB,  that  run  in  the  direction  in  which  the  boulders  have  been  transported. 
The  glaciers  of  the  Alps  and  of  Greenland  show  us  such  markings  and 
similar  deposits  of  drift  now  in  process  of  formation  ;  and  there  are  no 
other  known  agencies  capable  of  producing  these  effects.  It  is  therefore  a 
necessary  conclusion  that  the  last  period  in  the  geological  history  of  this 
region  brought  a  very  cold  climate  in  which  a  vast  ice-sheet  was  accumu- 
lated, each  year  adding  something  to  its  depth  by  the  excess  of  snowfall  over 
what  could  be  removed  by  melting  and  evaporation.  Its  greatest  thickness 
was  far  at  the  north,  where  the  solid  ice  probably  became  several  miles 
deep ;  and  the  pressure  of  this  vast  weight  caused  it  to  flow  slowly  outward 
in  all  directions  from  its  deepest  part.  The  superficial  materials  formed  by 
decomposition  of  the  rocks  before  this  glacial  period,  were  then  ploughed 
up,  mingled  with  large  additions  by  erosion  of  the  underlying  ledges,  and 
carried  forward  in  the  direction  of  the  ice-current.  It  appears,  also,  by 
shells  and  trees  found  deeply  buried  between  glacial  deposits,  that  this  very 


cold  period  was  not  one  unbroken  reign  of  ice,  but  that  this  retreated  and 
readvanced,  or  was  possibly  at  some  times  nearly  all  melted  and  then  accu- 
mulated anew.  Thus  periods  of  ice  alternated  with  interglacial  epochs,  in 
which  animal  and  vegetable  life  spread  again  northward,  following  close 
upon  the  retreat  of  the  ice-fields.  By  each  new  advance  of  the  glacial  sheet 
much,  of  the  previous  surface  would  be  ploughed  up  and  redeposited ;  hence 
we  find  only  few  and  scanty  remnants  of  fossiliferous  beds  in  the  glacial 
drift.  At  the  disappearance  of  the  last  ice-sheet  these  drifted  materials, 
seldom  modified  by  water  in  their  deposition,  formed  a  mantle  100  to  200 
feet  thick,  which  throughout  the  region^here  described  completely  covered 
the  solid  rocks. 

The  gently  undulating  contour  of  most  of  this  region  appears  to  mark 
areas  over  which  the  ice-sheet  moved  in  a  continuous  current,  and  from 
which  it  disappeared  by  melting  that  was  extended  at  the  same  time  over  a 
wide  field.  The  inequalities  of  surface  are  very  slight  in  comparison  with 
the  thickness  of  the  drift,  and  the  average  height  generally  rises  or  falls 
imperceptibly,  its  elope  being  often  not  more  than  50  or  100  feet  in  as  many 
miles.  These  general  changes  in  altitude,  which  affect  the  whole  country 
and  give  direction  to  its  drainage,  are  doubtless  produced  by  differences  in 
height  of  the  bed-rock  upon  which  the  drift  lies  as  a  sheet,  probably  some- 
what uniform  in  depth ;  but  the  small  elevations  and  depressions  appear  to 
be  due  to  the  accumulation  of  different  amounts  of  till  in  and  beneath 
adjoining  portions  of  the  moving  ice-sheet.  This  unequal  deposition  of  the 
drift  has  produced  the  multitude  of  lakes  which  dot  the  map  of  Minnesota. 
The  lapse  of  time  since  the  ice-age  has  been  insufficient  for  rains  and 
streams  to  fill  these  basins  with  sediment,  or  to  cut  outlets  low  enough  to 
drain  them  ;  though  in  many  instances  we  can  see  such  changes  slowly  going 
forward. 

Terminal  Moraine  of  the  Ice- Sheet. —The  most  noticeable  deposits  of  an 
alpine  glacier  are  its  terminal  moraine,  or  the  heaps  of  rock-fragments  and 
detritus  which  it  carries  forward  to  its  termination.  This  frontal  line  often 
remains  at  nearly  the  same  place  through  many  years  or  centuries.  The 
flowing  ice  continues  to  this  limit,  where  it  is  melted,  and  the  materials 
which  have  fallen  upon  its  surface  from  bordering  cliffs,  or  which  it  has 
ploughed  up  from  below,  are  here  left  at  its  end  in  heaps,  ridges  and  hillocks, 
of  very  irregular  contour,  due  to  slight  retreats  and  advances  of  the  ice- 
front,  and  of  greater  amount  than  the  deposits  which  appear  upon  the  area 
over  which  it  moved,  exposed  when  any  climatal  change  causes  the  glacier 
to  retreat  a  considerable  distance.  Within  the  field  here  reported  we  find 
similar  but  much  greater  accumulations  of  drift  which  appear  to  have  been 
amassed  where  our  last  ice-sheet  had  its  termination  through  a  long  period. 
The  only  notable  hills  of  this  area  are  of  this  origin.  They  have  no 
exposures  of  solid  rock,  but  form  part  of  a  belt  of  rough  and  hilly  drift, 
where  steep  slopes  and  abruptly  curving  and  broken  outlines  prevail. 

This  series  of  hills  and  rough  land  extends  the  whole  length  of  this  area, 
250  miles;  and  beyond  these  limits  it  appears  to  be  of  the  same  age  with  a 
similar  belt  of  hilly  drift  which  has  been  traced  across  Wisconsin  in  the 
recent  geological  survey  of  that  state,  where  it  is  called  the  Kettle  Moraine. 
Farther  east  it  is  probably  represented  by  similar  deposits  which  cross  north- 
eastern Illinois,  thence  bend  north-eastward  into  southern  Michigan,  again 


6 

turn  to  the  south  and  east  through  Indiana  and  Ohio,  appear  in  eastern 
Pennsylvania  and  northern  New  Jersey,  and  have  been  traced  by  the  writer 
of  this  along  the  north  shore  of  eastern  Long  Island,  through  southern 
Rhode  Island,  in  the  Elizabeth  islands,  and  along  Cape  Cod  to  its  east  shore. 
West  of  Minnesota  our  series  of  hills  is  continuous,  by  a  loop  that  reaches 
into  northern  Iowa,  to  the  great  drift-range  which  has  been  called  in  its 
south-east  portion  the  Coteau  des  Prairies  and  farther  north-west  the  Coteau 
de  Missouri,  extending  to  the  North  Saskatchewan  river,  350  miles  west  of 
Lake  Winnipeg.  These  morainic  accumulations,  traced  more  than  half 
way  across  the  continent,  are  thought  to  mark  the  line  to  which  the  ice- 
sheet  advanced  and  where  it  had  its  termination  through  the  principal  part 
of  the  last  glacial  epoch.  At  a  previous  period  it  reached  much  farther 
south,  carrying  its  drift  somewhat  beyond  the  Missouri  river  and  nearly  to 
the  Ohio.  The  limit  of  the  ice  in  this  earlier  epoch  was  300  miles  south  of 
our  terminal  moraine. 

Medial  Moraines.  Before  describing  these  hills  in  Minnesota,  it  is  needful 
to  mention  that  other  lines  of  detritus  and  boulders,  called  medial  moraines, 
are  formed  by  alpine  glaciers  wherever  they  meet  from  confluent  valleys, 
thence  flowing  onward  together.  Series  of  drift-hills  of  like  origin  are  asso- 
ciated with  the  terminal  moraine  of  the  continental  ice-sheet,  which  is  found 
to  have  its  course  in  long  curves,  convex  toward J;he  south  and  joined  with 
each  other  by  angles  that  point  northward.  The  glacial  sheet  is  thus  known 
to  have  had  its  front  divided  in  vast  lobes,  each  of  which  had  a  diverging 
current,  directed  at  all  sides  perpendicularly  toward  its  curved  frontal 
moraine.  North  from  the  angle  of  adjoining  ice-lobes  their  currents  pushed 
against  each  other,  and  along  this  line  of  confluent  ice-fields  medial  moraines 
were  accumulated,  consisting  of  irregular  hills,  ridges  and  mounds  of  drift, 
of  the  same  character  with  those  that  were  formed  along  the  margin  of  the 
ice-sheet. 

The  moraine  in  western  Minnesota  is  partly  medial  and  partly  terminal. 
Beginning  beyond  the  northern  limit  of  our  exploration,  its  course  is  from 
the  vicinity  of  Rice  lake,  near  the  head  of  the  Wild  Rice  river,  south-south- 
west 20  miles  to  the  east  side  of  White  Earth  lake.  This  portion  of  the 
moraine  has  hills  50  to  100  feet  high  seen  from  the  top  of  the  new  school- 
building  at  the  White  Earth  Indian  Agency.  About  this  agency  the  country 
is  prominently  undulating,  or  rolling,  having  its  crests  30  to  40  feet  above 
the  lakes  which  abound.  Its  general  height  is  about  1600  feet  above  sea,  and 
this  continues  to  the  sources  of  the  Mississippi,  30  miles  east.  In  the  next 
four  miles  west  from  White  Earth  the  land  descends  about  300  feet,  to  an  ex- 
tensive undulating  plain,  which  has  its  east  boundary  at  a  line  running 
nearly  due  south  20  miles  to  the  Northern  Pacific  railroad  two  miles  east  of 
Audubon.  Westward  this  expanse,  declining  from  1300  to  1200  feet  above 
sea,  extends  in  view  from  the  agency  25  miles,  beyond  which  it  again  descends 
300  feet  in  three  or  four  miles  to  the  broad  lacustrine  plain  bordering  the 
Red  river.  The  course  of  the  moraine,  marked  by  many  small  hills  of  very 
irregular  and  broken  contour,  is  due  south  for  its  first  30  miles  from  White 
Earth  lake,  passing  through  the  townships  of  range  40  in  Becker  county. 
This  belt  is  crossed  by  the  road  from  White  Earth  to  Leach  lake,  which  is 
described  as  very  rough  and  hilly  to  the  headwaters  of  Otter  Tail  river, 
beyond  which  it  is  gently  undulating  for  50  miles  eastward.  In  the  western 


two-thirds  of  Erie  and  Burlington  (139  and  138  of  range  40)  these  hills  are 
finely  developed  ;  they  rise  50  to  100  feet  above  the  very  numerous  and  irreg- 
ular depressions,  but  the  general  height  of  the  country  has  fallen  off,  so  that 
their  tops  are  only  1450  to  1500  feet  above  sea.  Detroit  mountain,  at  the 
north-east  corner  of  sec.  31,  Erie,  is  one  of  the  highest  of  these  hills.  It 
lies  at  the  west  side  of  their  principal  belt,  which  is  crossed  by  the  roads 
from.  Detroit  to  Frazee  City.  On  the  north  road  the  typical  morainic  contour 
is  well  seen  in  sees.  7,  8  and  9,  Burlington.  The  coarse  unmodified  glacial 
drift,  or  till,  of  which  our  moraine  for  250  miles  is  everywhere  made,  so  far 
as  observed,  is  here  disposed  in  a  great  profusion  of  knolls,  short  ridges  and 
lulls,  20  to  50  feet  high. 

In  Otter  Tail  county  this  morainic  series  continues  from  the  north-west 
corner  of  Hobart  (t.  137,  r.  40,)  south-south-west  to  Spirit  lake  and  Lake 
Lida,  12  miles.  It  here  varies  from  one  to  three  miles  in  width.  Its  knolls 
along  most  of  this  distance  rise  only  25  to  50  feet,  but  they  are  much  more 
•  abundant  and  have  steeper  and  more  broken  slopes  than  upon  adjoining 
areas  to  the  east  or  west.  At  the  south-east  side  of  Lake  Lida  it  forms  a 
Tange  of  hills,  100  feet  or  more  above  the  lake.  These  are  conspicuously 
seen  from  the  township  of  Maine,  10  miles  south-east.  From  Lake  Lida 
this  moraine  widens  and  covers  the  first  six  or  seven  miles  east  from  the 
Pelican  river,  above  which  it  rises  100  to  150  feet  or  more ;  being  well  ex- 
hibited for  18  miles  in  the  east  portions  of  Erhard's  Grove,  Elizabeth,  and 
Fergus  Falls.  On  the  road  from  Maine  to  Elizabeth  its  hills  are  very 
numerous  and  irregular  in  outlines,  short,  trending  from  north  to  south  more 
frequently  than  in  other  directions,  and  separated  by  hollows  25  to  50  feet 
deep.  Here  and  for  six  miles  southward,  the  contour  along  the  Red  river 
<md  about  "Wall  lake,  though  within  this  morainic  belt,  has  been  more 
smoothed  than  its  other  portions,  probably  by  floods  produced  at  the  with- 
drawal of  the  ice-sheet.  At  Lake  Lida  these  hills  have  their  tops  about 
1425  feet  above  sea;  thence  to  the  vicinity  of  Fergus  Falls  this  altitude 
gradually  diminishes  to  1300,  not  because  the  hills  grow  smaller,  but  because 
.the  land  on  which  they  lie  slopes  in  this  direction. 

The  region  west  of  this  moraine,  including  the  south-west  corner  of 
Becker  county,  the  south-east  part  of  Clay  county,  and  the  west  range  of 
townships  in  Otter  Tail  county,  extending  from  the  Northern  Pacific  railroad 
45  miles  south,  and  as  far  westward  as  to  the  lacustrine  basin  of  the  Red 
River  valley,  is  mainly  hilly,  with  the  highest  elevations  50  to  100  feet  above 
-the  hollows.  In  the  east  part  of  Park  (t.  138,  r.  44,)  and  perhaps  at  some 
other  localities,  these  hills  have  a  typically  morainic  contour,  being  plentiful 
-and  irregular,  small  and  steep ;  but  generally  they  are  massive  and  broadly 
.rounded,  with  long  gently  curving  slopes.  Indian  hill,  in  sec.  9,  Oscar  (t. 
134,  r.  44,)  affords  a  fine  view  of  part  of  this  area  and  of  the  moraine  seven 
miles  eastward,  while  at  the  west  it  overlooks  the  plain  of  Wilkin  county, 
which  stretches  with  very  slight  descent  20  miles  to  the  Red  river.  On  the 
^east  side  of  the  moraine  the  only  prominent  outlying  hills  are  at  the  south- 
east corner  of  Hobart,  where  a  gravelly  ridge  of  irregular  contour  reaches 
•.two  or  three  miles  from  north  to  south,  its  highest  portion  being  atbout  150 
leet  above  the  surrounding  country.  These  are  the  hills>  which,  one  sees 
from  Perham,  looking  north-west. 

The  greatest  development  of  the  moraine  within  th&  limits,  of  Minnesota, 


8 

is  in  southern  Otter  Tail  county,  where  it  sweeps  in  a  semicircle  from  Fergus 
Falls  south-east  to  the  south  line  of  the  county  and  thence  east  and  north- 
east to  East  Leaf  lake,  a  distance  of  50  miles.  In  the  first  20  miles,  or  from 
Fergus  Falls  to  the  north  side  of  Lake  Christina,  at  the  north-west  corner  of 
D.ouglas  county,  it  is  divided  into  two  or  three  belts  of  roughly  hilly  land, 
with  intervening  areas  of  smoother  contour.  At  one  to  two  miles  east  from 
Fergus  Falls  is  a  narrow  belt  of  irregular  hills  and  hollows,  with  the  crests 
about  100  feet  above  the  river.  This  series  continues  one  to  three  miles 
wide  for  15  miles  south-south-east,  through  Dane  Prairie  and  Tumuli,  inta 
the  north-east  corner  of  Pomme  de  Terre  township.  Next  it  partly  bends 
east  to  the  high  hills  north  of  Pelican  lake,  and  is  partly  represented  by  the 
less  irregular  but  yet  prominently  hilly  land  which  lies  between  Pelican  and 
Pomme  de  Terre  lakes  and  continues  thence  a  few  miles  farther  south.  In 
Dane  Prairie  and  Tumuli  this  moraine  lies  at  the  east  side  of  a  series  of 
lakes,  of  which  Swan  and  Ten  Mile  lakes  are  the  largest.  Beside  the»latter, 
in  sees.  27  and  34,  Tumuli,  the  contour  for  a  width  of  one-eighth  to  one- 
fourth  mile  is  in  very  irregular  short  hills,  25  to  40  feet  above  the  lake. 
Their  trend,  north-west  to  south-east,  is  parallel  with  the  lake  and  with  the 
course  of  the  moraine.  These  small  hills  are  exceedingly  rocky  with  granitic 
and  gneissic  boulders  of  all  sizes  up  to  five  or  six  feet  in  diameter,  which 
frequently  cover  half  of  the  ground  for  several  rods  distance.  North-east 
from  this  typically  morainic  line  the  land  for  a  few  miles  is  in  massive  hills 
and  swells,  which  rise  50  to  75  feet  above  intervening  hollows  and  lakes.  Its 
least  hilly  portion  is  St.  Olaf  township,  which  has  mostly  a  rolling  surface, 
in  extensive  swells  30  to  50  feet  high.  The  east  part  of  Tordenskjold  is  oc- 
cupied by  a  second  belt  of  very  irregular  hills,  which  is  connected  through 
sees.  19  and  20  and  the  north  part  of  sees.  7  and  8  with  the  series  that  lies 
at  the  east  side  of  Wall  lake  and  the  Red  river,  reaching  north-west  to  the 
broad  area  of  this  moraine  in  Friberg  and  Elizabeth.  The  Tordenskjold 
hills  are  also  joined  from  the  north  by  another  line  of  drift  deposits,  having 
a  very  rough  contour  in  knolls,  ridges  and  hillocks,  25  to  75  feet  high,  which 
extends  ten  miles  with  an  average  width  of  one  mile,  from  sec.  15,  Maine, 
south-south-east  by  the  cast  side  of  Turtle  lake.  The  wTide  moraine  result- 
ing from  the  union  of  these  subordinate  series  continues  south-east  to  La^ke 
Christina.  Where  it  is  crossed  by  the  road  from  Clitherall  to  St.  Olaf,  its 
first  and  highest  hill  is  called  "Dutch  Bluff."  At  the  south  side  of  this,, 
about  125  feet  lower,  is  a  pretty  lake,  half  a  mile  long,  bordered  all  around 
by  morainic  hills.  This  belt  of  short  ridges,  knolls,  and  hollows,  has  a  width 
of  three  miles  thence  to  the  south-west. 

TTw  Leaf  Hills.  In  Eagle  Lake  township,  at  the  north  side  of  Lake  Chris- 
tina, the  last  described  series  and  that  which  comes  from  the  south-west  by 
the  north  side  of  Pelican  lake,  are  united ;  and  thence  for  the  next  20  miles, 
to  the  east  and  north-east  the  moraine  forms  a  range  five  to  three  miles 
wide,  composed  of  very  irregular,  roughly  outlined  hills,  100  to  300  feet  high.. 
This  portion  of  the  moraine  is  widely  known  by  the  name  Leaf  mountains. 
We  also  occasionally  hear  this  name  applied  to  its  similar  but  less  promi- 
nent portions  in  the  west  part  of  this  county ;  and  at  White  Earth  agency  I 
was  informed  that  these  hills  in  Becker  county  are  sometimes  called  a 
branch  of  the  Leaf  mountains.  Northeast  of  East  Leaf  lake,  where  the 
moraine  is  crossed  by  the  road  from  Wadena  to  Otter  Tail  lake,  its  eleva- 


tions  rise  only  about  100  feet  and  are  named  Leaf  hills  ;  which  seems  a  more 
appropriate  title,  and  will  be  used  in  this  report  to  include  the  highest  part 
of  the  range.  The  common  name  has  currency  because  they  are  the  only 
hills  in  this  part  of  Minnesota  which  are  conspicuously  seen  at  any  great 
distance. 

Heights  of  the  Leaf  hills  and  adjoining  region  are  as  follows :  average 
elevation  of  south-eastern  Otter  Tail  county,  1375  to  1400  feet  above  sea ; 
Wadena,  1358;  New  York  Mills,  1418;  Perham,  1375;  Alexandria,  1391; 
Evansville,  1354 ;  Lake  Christina,  about  1200 ;  St.  Olaf,  1344 ;  Turtle  lake, 
1331 ;  Otter  Tail  and  Rush  lakes,  about  1325  ;  East  and  West  Leaf  lakes, 
about  1340 ;  East  and  West  Battle  lakes,  about  1338  ;  Clitherall  lake,  1341 ; 
Nidaros  plain,  south-east  of  last,  1450  to  1460;  Dutch  bluff ,  about  1450 ; 
Leaf  hills  in  Eagle  Lake  township,  1400  to  1500  ;  in  the  north-east  corner  of 
Lund  and  north-west  edge  of  Millerville,  Douglas  county,  3500  to  1600  ;  in 
Leaf  Mountain  township,  1550  to  1650  ;  in  the  north-west  part  of  Effiington, 
1600  to  1700  ;  highest  summit  of  the  Leaf  hills,  thought  to  be  in  sec.  32,  t. 
132,  r.  38,  about  1750 ;  thence  for  seven  miles  north-eastward,  1650  to  1600  ; 
depression  in  range  crossed  by  head  of  Leaf  river,  about  1425  ;  hills  in  next 
six  miles  north,  to  where  the  series  is  again  crossed  by  this  river  below  East 
Leaf  lake,  1640  to  1450. 

The  road  from  Alexandria  to  Clitherall  crosses  'this  range  in  the  township 
of  Leaf  Mountain.  The  summit  of  the  road  is  near  the  south  line  of  this- 
township,  about  1525  feet  above  sea.  The  top  of  a  hill  a  quarter  of  a  mile 
east  of  this  and  about  125  feet  higher, affords  a  fine  view  of  these  "mountains,'' 
which  westward  and  north-eastward  rise  in  most  tumultuous  confusion  150 
to  250  feet  or  more  above  the  intervening  depressions  They  are  massive, 
though  very  irregular  in  contour,  with  steep  slopes.  No  prevailing  trend 
is  noticeable.  Between  them  are  enclosed  frequent  lakes,  which  vary  from 
a  few  rods  to  a  mile  in  length,  and  one  of  the  largest  lies  at  the  north-east 
foot  of  our  hill.  The  material  is  unmodified  drift,  nearly  like  that  which 
forms  very  extensive  gently  undulating  tracts  elsewhere.  The  principal 
difference  is  that  rock-fragments,  large  and  small,  are  generally  more 
numerous  upon  these  hills,  and  occasionally  they  occur  in  great  abundance. 

The  Leaf  hills  are  also  crossed  by  the  road  that  runs  north-west  from 
Parker's  Prairie.  In  t.  132,  r.  38,  this  road  winds  three  or  four  miles  among 
their  knolls,  hills  and  short  ridges,  rising  about  100  feet  above  the  land  on 
each  side.  Again,  in  going  from  Otter  Tail  lake  to  Wadena,  this  range  is- 
encountered  one  to  two  miles  north-east  from  East  Leaf  lake.  Here  its- 
hillocks  are  only  40  to  60  feet  above  the  hollows,  and  100  to  125  feet  above 
the  lake.  Their  material  is  gravel  and  sand  with  enclosed  boulders,  unlike 
the  stony  and  gravelly  clay  which  makes  up  most  of  these  morainic  accumu- 
lations. This  belt  of  irregular  hillocks  and  hollows,  occupying  a  width  of 
about  two  miles,  next  extends  in  a  course  a  little  west  of  north  12  miles, 
running  midway  between  New  York  Mills  and  Rush  lake,  and  ends  (so  far 
as  we  are  able  to  report)  in  hills  which  rise  100  feet  above  the  general  level 
at  the  south  side  of  Pine  lake. 

Outlying  hills  west  of  this  series  occur  along  the  south  side  of  the  Leaf 
lakes,  where  they  are  50  to  75  feet  high ;  and  for  twTo  miles  south  from  East 
Battle  lake,  above  which  they  rise  about  150  feet.  On  the  east  side  of  this 
moraine  two  lines  of  hilly  and  irregular  contour  have  been  noted  branching 


10 

off  from  it.  The  most  northern  starts  four  miles  south  from  the  east  end  of 
East  Leaf  lake,  and  extends  nearly  due  east  through  Inman  and  Oak  Valley 
into  the  north-west  township  of  Todd  county.  On  the  road  from  Wadena 
to  Parker's  Prairie  this  line  is  represented  by  a  nearly  level  tract  of  unmod- 
ified boulder-clay,  in  contrast  with  all  the  rest  of  this  road  which  has  only 
stratified  gravel  and  sand.  Two  miles  farther  east,  in  sec.  9,  t.  133,  r.  35,  it 
rises  in  conspicuous  hills  fully  100  feet  above  the  general  level.  The  other 
series  starts  from  the  highest  part  of  the  Leaf  hills,  15  miles  south  of  Leaf 
lakes,  and  passes  south-east  into  Douglas  county.  In  its  first  few  miles  this 
range  decreases  in  height  from  200  to  75  feet.  At  the  north  line  of  Douglas 
county  it  divides  into  two  divergent  belts,  both  showing  a  rough  and  broken 
surface,  though  the  hills  of  each  are  only  75  feet  or  less  in  height.  One 
of  these  continues  south-east  and  east  through  Spruce  Hill  township,  beyond 
which  it  has  not  been  traced;  the  other  runs south-south-wrest  to  the  north- 
west side  of  Lake  Miltona,  along  the  west  side  of  Lake  I^a,  by  Elk  lake  and 
the  west  part  of  Lake  Lobster,  to  the  conspicuous  hills,  about  150  feet  high, 
at  the  south-west  corner  of  Moe.  Each  of  these  belts  averages  about  one 
mile  wide.  The  latter,  in  its  farther  extent,  seems  to  lead  by  a  continuous 
course  from  the  prominent  Leaf  hills  to  the  almost  equally  noteworthy 
development  of  this  moraine  through  40  miles'  distance  in  southern  Pope 
and  northern  Kandiyohi  counties. 

It  may  be  here  remarked  that  the  Leaf  Hills  are  thought  by  the  writer  to 
be  a  terminal  moraine  accumulated  at  the  north-west  end  of  a  narrow  area, 
which  was  not  covered  by  ice  in  this  epoch,  but  was  bordered  on  its  north- 
east and  south-west  sides  by  vast  lobes  of  the  ice-sheet.  This  seems  to  be 
indicated  by  the  position  of  angles  in  the  moraine,  with  branches,  which 
were  probably  medial,  extending  from  them  ;  as  also  by  associated  deposits 
of  stratified  drift  which  cover  extensive  areas  eastward  ;  while  it  is  obvious 
that  such  form  of  the  ice-sheet  would  correspond  to  that  which  it  had  at  an 
•earlier  period  when  it  reached  farther  and  surrounded  a  large  driftless  area 
in  front  of  this  at  the  south-east.  The  terminal  moraine  formed  at  the  ice- 
margin  in  our  last  glacial  epoch  is  therefore  thought  to  be  represented 
by  some  branch  extending  east  and  south-east  from  the  Leaf  hills.  That 
region  has  not  yet  been  explored  in  reference  to  its  drift  formations ;  but  it 
is  believed  that  a  morainic  belt  will  be  found  traceable  continuously  to  the 
•drift-hills  of  Manomin,  the  south-west  part  of  Ramsey  county,  and  West 
Saint  Paul,  there  crossing  the  Mississippi  river  twice  and  thence  bending 
east  to  Lake  St.  Croix,  beyond  which  its  course  for  the  next  50  miles  is 
north-eastward  as  traced  by  Prof.  Chamberlin,  in  the  geological  survey  of 
"Wisconsin. 

The  portion  of  the  moraine  reaching  from  northern  Becker  county  to 
Fergus  Falls  or  perhaps  to  the  south  line  of  Otter  Tail  county,  and  also  that 
from  the  highest  part  of  the  Leaf  hills  to  Pine  lake,  are  then  probably 
medial  deposits  of  drift  heaped  where  opposing  ice-currents  met.  The  ter- 
minal moraine  formed  at  the  west  side  of  the  area  that  is  supposed  not  to 
have  been  covered  by  ice  at  this  time,  may  be  represented  by  the  line  of 
irregular  low  hills  which  runs  by  Lake  Ida  ;  but  it  seems  more  likely  that  it 
is  found  in  the  rolling  tract,  nowhere  very  rough  and  broken  in  outlines  but 
rising  in  smooth  swelling  hills  50  to  75  or  100  feet  high,  extending  from  the 
higher  hills  at  the  south-west  corner  of  Moe  north-westward  to  Pelican  lake 
and  Lake  Christina. 


11 

From  the  hills  in  Moe  and  the  north-east  part  of  Solum,  lying  on  the  north 
and  west  sides  of  Lake  Oscar,  the  terminal  moraine,  seldom  much  elevated 
above  the  adjacent  country,  but  distinguished  by  its  irregular  hills  and  hol- 
lows, continues  with  an  average  width  of  about  one  mile,  first  south-west 
and  south  12  miles  to  the  bridge  across  Chippewa  river  in  sec.  32,  Nora ; 
then  south-east,  east,  and  east-north-east  18'miles,  passing  along  the  north 
side  of  Lake  Whipple  to  Glenwood. 

The  height  of  Lake  Whipple  (also  called  White  Bear  lake)  is  estimated  to 
be  about  1100  feet  above  sea.  It  is  situated  near  the  center  of  Pope  county, 
and  is  the  largest  lake  of  the  county,  being  seven  miles  long  with  an  aver- 
age width  of  two  miles.  At  its  north  side,  within  a  half  mile  or  so  back 
from  its  shore,  the  very  irregular  bluffs  of  this  moraine  rise  150,  and  in  a  few 
places  200  feet.  This  ascent  forms  the  margin  of  a  gently  undulating 
plateau  which  extends  indefinitely  northward,  with  an  average  elevation 
about  the  same  as  the  top  of  these  bluffs.  At  Glenwood  the  moraine  bends 
southward  around  the  east  end  of  the  lake,  and  thence  it  appears  to  be 
represented  by  prominent  hills  along  the  line  between  Barsness  and  Chip- 
pewa Falls,  joining  the  well-marked  morainic  range  of  southern  Pope  county 
at  a  point  10  miles  south  of  Gleuwood.  The  broken  bluffs  bordering  Lake 
Whipple  at  the  north  and  east  are  thus  regarded  as  the  terminal  deposits  of 
ice  which  was  pushed  north-eastward,  covering  the  place  now  occupied  by 
this  lake ;  but  before  the  close  of  this  epoch,  the  ice-front  here  retreated 
several  miles,  after  which  it  halted,  perhaps  with  some  relidvance,  forming  a 
more  conspicuous  terminal  moraine  in  Blue  Mounds  and  Barsness,  which 
continues  thence  finely  developed  for  40  miles  to  the  east-south-east  and 
east. 

The  township  of  Blue  Mounds  has  its  name  from  the  hills  of  this  moraine, 
which  begins  a  mile  north-east  from  the  east  end  of  Lake  Emily,  and  extends 
in  a  range  of  very  irregular  contour,  150  to  200  feet  high,  or  about  1250  to 
1300  feet  above  sea,  east  along  the  south  side  of  Signalnas  creek,  east-south- 
east through  Barsness,  by  the  north  side  of  Woodpecker  lake,  and  between 
Scandinavia  lake  and  Chippewa  Falls,  and  thence  south-east  to  the  south 
side  of  Lake  Johanna  township,  where  it  enters  Kandiyohi  county,  The 
road  from  the  west  end  of  Lake  Whipple  to  Benson  first  crosses  massively 
hilly  land,  150  feet  high,  then  descends  about  100  feet  to  Signalnas  creek, 
and  next  climbs  about  125  feet  among  the  picturesque  ridges  and  hillocks  of 
the  moraine,  reaching  a  point  only  30  or  40  feet  below  its  highest  summits, 
which  lie  within  one  and  a  half  miles  eastward.  The  range  here  consists 
mainly  of  steep  ridges  of  variable  height  and  length,  sometimes  a  half  mile 
long,  running  from  west  to  east,  with  many  enclosed  irregular  hollows. 
The  road  from  Glenwood  to  Benson  also  passes  over  high  swells  north  of 
this  moraine,  whose  short,  prominent  west-to-east  ridges  it  crosses  in  sees. 
20  and  29,  Barsness.  A  beautiful  little  lake  is  seen  here  in  a  deep  hollow  of 
these  hills  below  the  road  at  its  west  side.  Upon  reaching  the  top  of  the 
moraine  by  these  roads,  one  unexpectedly  discovers  yet  higher  land  within 
a  few  miles  at  the  south  and  south-west,  where  the  north  part  of  Langhei 
consists  wholly  of  massive  swells  and  hills,  50  to  75  feet  above  the  enclosed 
depressions  and  lakelets.  This  is  the  highest  land  in  Pope  county,  being 
fully  100  feet  above  the  moraine,  or  1400  feet  above  sea.  The  view  from  it 
southward  and  westward  overlooks  a  gently  undulating,  but  in  the  distance 
apparently  level  tract,  300  to  350  feet  lower,  extending  to  the  horizon. 


12 

The  western  and  southern  part  of  Chippewa  Falls  gradually  becomes  more 
and  more  hilly  as  we  approach  the  morainic  series  at  the  south  and  west 
sides  of  this  township.  From  Pope  Summit,  a  quarter  of  a  mile  north  of 
the  village  and  about  125  feet  above  the  dam,  the  north-west  to  south-east 
range  of  the  terminal  moraine  is  seen  rising  to  about  equal  height  two  miles- 
farther  south.  At  the  south-west  side  of  Lake  Johanna  a  prominent  mass 
of  highland  rises  125  feet  or  so  above  this  lake.  Its  south-west  margin,  in 
sec.  30,  descends  in  rough  and  broken  morainic  outlines,  forming  a  part  of 
this  series.  Here  and  in  its  farther  course  through  Kandiyohi  county,  its 
highest  points  are  about  1250  or  1300  feet  above  sea,  being  75  to  100  feet 
above  the  general  level.  In  the  north  part  of  Norv^ay  Lake  and  south-west 
part  of  Colfax,  it  forms  a  roughly  hilly  belt  two  to  three  miles  wide.  It  is 
finely  seen  at  the  north  side  of  NorVay  lake  and  Lake  Andrew,  where  it  is 
called  the  "Blue  hills,"  or  sometimes  a  "  branch  of  the  Rocky  Mountains." 
Its  highest  knob,  called  Mount  Tom  (at  south-east  corner  of  sec.  35,  Colfax,} 
commands  a  fine  view.  The  material  of  this  hill  is  coarse  drift,  holding 
occasional  angular  boulders  up  to  four  feet  in  diameter  and  many  smaller 
fragments,  mixed  also  with  a  large  proportion  of  water- worn  gravel.  At 
one  point  40  rods  north-north-east,  boulders  up  to  six  feet  in  diameter 
are  very  abundant.  The  contour  here  is  typically  morainic,  in  short  west- 
to-east  ridges  of  unequal  height,  very  steep,  especially  on  the  south  side, 
with  correspondingly  irregular  hollows.  Eastward  this  moraine  forms 
prominent  hills  in  the  north-east  part  of  New  London  and  north  part  of 
Irving.  These  cover  an  area  about  three  miles  wide  north  of  Green  lake, 
above  which  they  rise  100  to  150  feet.  One  of  these  hills  in  the  south  part 
of  sec.  31,  Roseville,  is  called  "  Sugarloaf  Peak."  At  the  south-east  corner 
of  Roseville  this  moraine  is  called  fc'  Cape  Bad  Luck."  The  road  here  climbs 
100  feet  over  a  profusion  of-  knolls  and  hillocks  of  every  form,  with  no  pre- 
vailing trend,  25  to  50  feet  high  above  the  numerous  hollows,  which  often 
hold  little  marshes  or  lakelets. 

This  moraine  is  very  prominent  from  Blue  Mounds  to  Cape  Bad  Luckr 
along  a  south-east  and  east  course  of  40  miles.  Though  it  is  well  known 
that  generally  the  drift  was  transported  southward,  or  in  some  direction 
between  south-east  and  south-west,  it  seems  necessary  to  attribute  the  for- 
mation of  this  range  to  a  glacial  current  flowing  north-east.  It  appears  to 
mark  the  north-east  boundary  of  a  vast  lobe  of  the  ice-sheet,  which  extended 
from  the  Leaf  hills  to  northern  Iowa  and  had  its  west  side  at  the  Coteau. 
The  moraines  of  its  margin  were  pushed  forward  by  the  diverging  currents 
of  this  ice-lobe,  which  in  approaching  its  edge  were  everywhere  turned 
perpendicularly,  or  nearly  so,  towards  its  terminal  line.  The  evidences 
which  usually  show  in  what  direction  the  ice-currents  moved,  namely, 
striae,  and  the  parent  ledges  from  which  boulders  have  been  derived,  are 
wanting  here,  and  cannot  be  appealed  to  in  support  of  this  opinion.  No 
exposures  of  the  underlying  rocks  have  been  found  in  all  this  region,  except- 
ing at  one  spot  seen  by  Owen  on  the  Red  river,  a  little  above  Fergus  Falls, 
and  commonly  along  the  deeply  excavated  valley  of  the  Minnesota  river,  40 
miles  south-west.  The  position  of  this  valley  coincides  approximately  with 
the  axis  of  this  ice-lobe,  being  so  far  removed  from  each  of  its  sides  that 
theoretically  it  should  show  no  deviation  from  the  axial  current.  Its  striae, 
observed  at  numerous  places,  all  bear  nearly  south-east.  In  the  absence  of 


13 

these  usual  proofs,  the  reasons  for  our  belief  are  the  continuity  of  this  mo- 
raine from  the  Leaf  hills  to  the  Coteau  by  a  great  southward  loop,  of  which 
the  range  of  drift-hills  in  Pope  and  Kandiyohi  counties  forms  a  part ;  the 
wide  nearly  level  area  of  glacial  drift,  which  is  enclosed  by  this  looped  hilly 
toelt ;  the  occurrence  of  a  medial  moraine  on  the  south  side  of  the  terminal  in 
Kandiyohi  county ;  and  areas  of  modified  drift  north  of  this  terminal 
moraine,  sloping  away  from  it,  and  thus  showing  that  the  waters  discharged 
from  the  ice-sheet  flowed  in  this  direction. 

The  medial  moraine  alluded  to  extends  from  Mt.  Tom  four  miles  south- 
south-east  ;  it  then  bends  south-westward  in  sec.  30,  New  London,  and  is 
finely  seen  for  12  miles,  passing  along  the  north-west  side  of  Ringo,  Nevada 
and  other  lakes,  to  Ostlund's  hill  in  sec.  22,  Mamre.  Its  contour  is  typically 
uneven,  being  composed  of  a  mixed  variety  of  hillocks  and  short  ridges  with 
many  hollows.  Throughout  most  of  its  course  its  elevation  is  only  50  to  75 
feet  above  the  general  level.  Its  highest  points  are  the  two  Dovre  hills, 
about  125  feet  above  adjoining  lakes.  The  road  at  the  south-west  corner  of 
sec.  16,  Dovre,  runs  between  these  hills,  which,  though  of  little  height,  are 
yet  prominent  as  compared  with  the  rest  of  this  district,  so  that  they  are 
conspicuously  seen  for  several  miles  around.  They  are  made  of  nearly  the 
same  kind  of  drift  as  Mt.  Tom,  but  have  more  numerous  rock-fragments, 
both  large  and  small.  Wherever  a  prevailing  trend  is  noticeable,  it  is  parallel, 
or  nearly  so,  with  the  course  of  the  series,  as  has  been  also  noted  respecting 
the  terminal  moraine  at  several  places 

South-eastern  Pope  county  contains  several  areas  of  modified  drift,  within 
two  or  three  miles  north  of  the  terminal  moraine,  which  appear  to  have 
been  deposited  by  floods  from  a  melting  and  retreating  ice-sheet.  One  of 
these  areas  of  stratified  gravel  and  sand  forms  an  elevated  plain  a  mile 
across  at  the  south-east  side  of  Lake  Johanna.  It  is  bordered  on  all  sides  by 
land  50  to  80  feet  lower,  and  its  southern  portion  is  about  90  feet  above  the 
lake.  It  has  a  descending  slope  to  the  north,  amounting  to  ten  feet  in  its 
mile  of  extent.  Another  plateau  of  similar  material,  extent,  height,  and 
slope  of  ten  feet  per  mile  to  the  north,  occurs  on  the  west  side  of  Lake 
Johanna ;  and  a  little  farther  north,  in  sec.  6,  Lake  Johanna,  and  sec.  1, 
Oilchrist,  are  others  somewhat  lower,  also  sloping  northward.  These 
plateaus  of  modified  drift  have  steep  sides  and  nearly  or  quite  flat  tops.  The 
intervening  tracts  are  gently  undulating  lowland,  also  mostly  modified  drift, 
50  to  75  feet  below  these  high  plains.  The  origin  of  these  deposits  seems 
to  have  been  from  glacial  melting,  which  washed  away  a  portion  of  the  drift 
material  that  was  held  in  the  ice-sheet,  and  spread  it  upon  these  areas  while 
they  were  still  bordered  on  the  east  and  west  by  ice-walls.  The  slope  proves 
that  these  waters  flowed  northward.  As  these  beds  lie  in  front  of  the  ter- 
minal moraine,  it  appears  that  they  are  of  slightly  earlier  formation,  or  that 
they  belong  to  some  time  in  this  epoch  when  the  ice-front  advanced  a  few 
miles  beyond  its  ordinary  limits. 

Another  noteworthy  area  of  modified  drift  occurs  in  Roseville,  north  of 
Cape  Bad  Luck.  Here  the  terminal  moraine  is  bordered  at  its  north  side  for 
four  miles  by  a  flat  of  gravel  and  sand,  extending  from  two  to  three  miles 
wide  to  Crow  River,  in  which  distance  it  descends  about  40  feet.  This  de- 
posit was  probably  formed  by  floods,  which  were  poured  down  from  the  ice- 
sheet  at  the  same  time  that  its  terminal  moraine  Was  being  accumulated. 


At  lower  stages  of  these  waters,  as  in  winter,  channels  were  cut  in  this  plain 
one  of  these,  containing  a  narrow  lakelet,  occurs  close  east  of  the  school- 
house  in  sec.  22.  Similar,  but  more  extensive  plains  of  modified  drift  are 
marked  features  in  the  topography  of  Long  Island,  Martha's  Vineyard, 
Nantucket  and  Cape  Cod,  where  they  lie  in  front  (which  is  there  south)  of 
terminal  moraines,  sloping  away  from  them  and  crossed  by  old  water-courses. 

The  continuation  of  the  moraine  beyond  Kandiyohi  county  forms  a  wider 
belt  of  drift-hills,  which  seldom  have  the  peculitrly  rough  and  broken  con- 
tour seen  farther  north-west.  It  runs  through  Meeker,  Wright,  eastern  Car- 
ver and  south-western  Hennepin  counties.  On  the  opposite  side  of  Minne- 
sota river  it  bends  south,  including  the  north-west  corner  of  Dakota  county  y 
the  east  half  of  Scott,  western  Rice  and  the  east  edge  of  Le  Sueur  county. 
These  hills  rise  40  to  100  feet,  rarely  more,  above  the  intervening  depressions, 
marshes  and  lakes.  They  are  massive,  with  moderately  steep  or  gentle 
slopes,  sometimes  being  nearly  a  mile  long  and  properly  called  swells 
because  of  their  smoothed  flowing  outlines.  It  is  also  to  be  noted  that  the 
boundary  of  these  morainic  accumulations  becomes  somewhat  indefinite  -f 
there  is  a  gradual  change  from  the  slightly  undulating  areas  at  each  side  to 
rolling  land,  and  then  to  hills  ;  and  these,  usually  with  no  prevailing  trend, 
are  scattered  more  or  less  thickly  upon  a  belt  5  to  15  or  even  25  miles  wide. 
This  hilly  tract  extends  through  the  north  edge  of  Meeker  county,  by  the 
south  side  of  Koronis  or  Cedar  lake,  through  the  north  part  of  Manannah, 
and  eastward  includes  nearly  all  of  Forest  Prairie  township,  Forest  City, 
except  its  south-west  portion,  and  Kingston.  Farther  south,  much  of  this 
county  is  specially  hilly  and  must  be  reckoned  as  part  of  this  morainic  belt. 
Of  this  character  are  Dassel  and  the  wooded  eastern  portion  of  Darwin,. 
Collinwood  in  less  degree,  Ellsworth  in  its  north  and  west  portions,  Green- 
leaf,  the  north-east  part  of  Cedar  Mills,  northern  Danielson,  south-western 
Litchfield  and  most  of  Acton.  Hills  also  occur  one  mile  north  of  Litchfield, 
and  five  to  eight  miles  north-west  in  the  wooded  portion  of  Harvey.  The 
same  hilly  land  reaches  also  north-westward,  lying  at  the  south  side  of  the 
typical  moraine,  and  occupying  through  Kandiyohi  and  north-eastern  Swift 
counties  a  width  that  decreases  from  20  to  about  5  miles.  The  Langhei 
hills,  south  of  Blue  Mounds,  are  the  west  end  of  this  tract.  These  too  are 
its  only  portion  that  rises  into  greater  prominence  than  the  terminal  moraine. 
Elsewhere  these  hills  are  only  40  to  60,  or  occasionally,  as  about  Swift  Falls, 
75  to  125  feet  high.  At  their  south-west  side  the  land  becomes  gently 
undulating  or  sometimes  flat,  as  in  Lake  Lillian  and  Cosmos,  forming  the 
margin  of  the  monotonous  expanse  of  nearly  level  unmodified  glacial  drift, 
which  reaches  thence  75  miles  to  the  hilly  Coteau. 

In  Wright  county  it  is  the  shorter  task  to  enumerate  the  districts  which 
are  comparatively  level.  Such  are  the  east  portions  of  South  Side  and 
French  lake  ;  south-western  Corinna  ;  Clearwater  prairie,  three  miles  long  ; 
Sanborn's  or  Moody's  prairie  and  adjacent  portions  of  Silver  Creek  town- 
ship ;  and  Monticello  and  West  prairies,  together  six  miles  long  and  two  to 
three  miles  wide.  These  areas,  like  the  level  tract,  nine  miles  wide,  which 
includes  the  greater  part  of  Darwin  and  Litchfield  in  Meeker  county,  consist 
of  modified  drift,  or  beds  of  gravel,  sand,  and  clay,  gathered  from  the  ice- 
sheet  and  deposited  by  the  waters  of  its  melting.  In  southern  Wright 
county,  the  vicinity  of  Waverly,  Howard  Lake  and  Smith  Lake,  and  most  of 


15 

the  townships  south  of  the  railroad,  excepting  Franklin  in  which  Delano  is 
situated,  consist  of  nearly  level  or  gently  undulating  areas  of  unmodified 
drift.  The  swells  and  hills  of  this  county  are  mostly  40  to  75  feet  high. 
In  its  south-east  portion  they  rise  100  to  125  feet  above  Crow  river.  Among 
these  hills  are  numerous  lakes,  which  lie  in  gently  sloping  hollows,  seldom 
having  steep  shores.  The  most  rough  and  typically  morainic  area  observed 
is  in  the  south-east  part  of  Silver  Creek  township,  where  from  Silver  lake  to- 
Lake  Ida  the  contour  is  a  multidude  of  small  hillocks  and  ridges  of  unmod- 
ified drift,  30  to  50  feet  above  the  hollows,  with  no  parallelism  or  prevailing 
trend.  Thence  a  somewhat  similar  formation  continues  five  miles  north  to 
the  river-road.  Especially  prominent  hills,  two  miles  south  of  Clearwater, 
and  two  miles  south-east  of  Monticello,  also  deserve  mention.  These  hills 
in  Meeker  and  Wright  counties  vary  in  height,  descending  eastward  with 
the  general  slope  of  the  country,  from  1225  to  1000  feet  above  sea. 

Hennepin  county  is  crossed  by  this  belt  of  hills  in  its  west  and  south-west 
portions,  and  they  are  finely  exhibited  about  Minnetonka  lake  (922  feet  in 
altitude,)  above  which  they  rise  50  to  100  feet.  In  Carver  county  the  town- 
ships of  Chanhassen  and  Laketown,  the  north-west  part  of  Chaska,  and 
northern  Dahlgren,  are  a  portion  of  the  same  belt  of  massive  hills,  with  no 
uniformity  of  trends,  elevated  40  to  75  feet  above  the  hollows.  A  rolling 
surface,  with  swells  half  as  high  as  the  foregoing,  continues  west  to  Young 
America.  The  remainder  of  Carver  county,  excepting  its  border  along  the 
Minnesota  river,  is  gently  undulating  or  nearly  level.  All  these  areas  are 
unmodified  drift. 

In  Eden  Prairie  and  Bloomington  the  moraine  extends  along  the  north 
side  of  Minnesota  river,  to  within  about  eight  miles  south-west  of  Fort 
Snelling.  The  river- bluff  here  is  140  feet  high,  and  at  a  mile  or  two  north- 
ward these  morainic  hills  rise  100  feet  higher,  their  tops  being  950  feet 
approximately  above  sea.  South-east  of  the  Minnesota  river  drift-hills, 
some  of  which  attain  equal  or  greater  height,  occupy  Burnsville,  excepting 
the  river  valley,  and  the  west  part  of  Lakeville,  in  the  north-west  edge  of 
Dakota  county.  They  also  cover  eastern  Scott  county  to  a  meridian  line 
drawn  through  Shakopee.  Here  these  swells  and  hills  generally  rise  30  to 
60  feet  above  the  hollows,  and  in  some  districts  75  to  100  feet.  They  are 
most  numerous  and  prominent  along  a  south-south-west  course  from  Burns- 
ville to  the  south  part  of  Cedar  Lake  township.  Farther  west  in  Scott 
county,  the  contour  is  moderately  undulating  in  swells  10  to  30  feet  high. 

The  western  part  of  Rice  county,  notably  its  west  range  of  townships, 
consists  mainly  of  these  terminal  drift-  deposits,  often  roughly  hilly.  In  Le 
Sueur  county  they  give  a  rolling  contour  to  the  east  side  of  Lanesburg,  to 
Montgomery  and  Kilkenny,  and  in  less  degree  to  Lexington,  Cordova,  and 
Elysian ;  while  in  Waterville,  at  the  south-east  corner  of  this  county,  they 
form  hills  50  to  125  feet  high  south  of  lakes  Tetonka  and  Sakata.  This  was 
the  south-eastern  limit  of  my  exploration.  The  continuance  of  this  moraine 
to  the  Coteau  de  Missouri  has  been  already  stated.  As  part  of  the  field- 
work  of  next  year,  we  hope  to  make  a  thorough  examination  of  that  region  ; 
and  also  of  that  lying  eastward  from  the  Leaf  hills  and  thence  south  to  the 
hills  of  Manomin,  in  which  distance  there  seem  to  be  reasons  for  believing 
that  another  terminal  moraine,  contemporaneous  and  continuous  with  the 
Leaf  hills,  will  be  found,  marking  the  south-west  limit  of  a  lobe  of  the  ice- 


16 

sheet  that  pushed  outward  from  Lake  Superior  and  its  bordering  high  lands . 
A  map  of  this  formation  will  be  presented  in  our  final  report. 

River  Systems.  The  drainage  of  the  portion  of  Minnesota  here  described 
is  not  much  influenced  by  the  presence  of  this  moraine.  Its  accumulations 
rise  to  great  prominence  only  in  the  Leaf  hills.  Generally  they  are  not  more 
than  100  feet  high,  and  are  separated  by  frequent  hollows,  which  allow  a 
free  passage  to  streams.  In  comparison  with  the  wider  areas  of  gently 
undulating  land,  this  hilly  belt  is  narrow ;  an$l  its  highest  elevations  are 
small  in  comparison  with  the  greater  changes  of  altitude  which  come  in 
gradually  and  almost  imperceptibly  in  traveling  100  or  200  miles,  such  as 
that  which  makes  Douglas,  Otter  Tail,  and  Becker  counties  500  to  700  feet 
above  Minneapolis  and  Saint  Paul.  The  course  of  the  moraine  coincides 
nearly  with  the  watershed  dividing  the  basin  of  the  upper  Mississippi  from 
that  of  the  Minnesota  river ;  but  this  height  of  land  and  consequent  division 
of  drainage  are  probably  due  to  the  height  of  the  underlying  rocks  rather 
than  to  the  thickness  of  drift  thefe. 

The  principal  tributaries  to  the  Mississippi  river,  flowing  partly  or  mainly 
from  this  area,  are  the  Crow  Wing  river,  whose  branches,  Shell',  Leaf,  and 
Long  Prairie  rivers,  drain  the  east  portion  of  Becker,  Otter  Tail,  and  Doug- 
las counties ;  the  Sauk  river,  which  has  its  headwaters  in  Osakis  lake,  and 
in  the  north-east  corner  of  Pope  county ;  the  Clearwater  river,  draining 
north  eastern  Meeker  and  north-western  Wright  counties  ;  and  the  Crow 
river,  which  has  its  waters  from  the  east  edge  of  Pope,  eastern  Kandiyohi, 
north-eastern  Renville,  Meeker,  Wright,  McLeod,  and  northwestern  Carver 
counties.  The  farthest  source  of  the  Crow  river,  in  Grove  Lake,  Pope 
county,  is  90  miles  from  its  mouth,  in  a  direct  line. 

Winnipeg  lake  and  Hudson  bay  receive  the  drainage  from  the  north-west 
part  of  our  area,  by  the  Red  River  of  the  North,  which  this  report,  follow- 
ing the  example  of  Owen,  calls  by  this  name  from  the  mouth  of  Otter  Tail 
lake.  This  is  42  miles  east  of  its  junction  with  the  Bois  des  Sioux  river  at 
Breckenridge,  where  the  Red  river  turns  its  course  ninety  degrees,  thence 
flowing  north.  The  Bois  des  Sioux,  a  much  smaller  stream,  having  its 
source  in  Lake  Traverse,  is  the  continuation  of  the  nearly  straight  course  of 
the  Red  river  below  this  junction.  The  name  Otter  Tail  river  is  restricted 
to  the  stream  which  flows  to  the  south  50  miles  from  the  north  side  of 
Becker  county,  passing  through  Elbow,  Many  Point,  Height  of  Land,  Pine, 
and  Rush  lakes,  besides  others  of  less  size,  and  emptying  into  Otter  Tail 
lake.  The  principal  tributaries  of  the  Red  river  from  this  area  are  the  Wild 
Rice  river,  one  of  whose  sources  is  White  Earth  lake,  while  its  south  branch 
drains  north-western  Becker  and  north-eastern  Clay  counties  ;  the  Buffalo 
river,  which  drains  the  rest  of  Clay  county,  and  has  its  farthest  sources  near 
the  center  of  Becker  and  in  north-eastern  Wilkin  county,  and  the  Pelican 
river,  which  joins  the  Red  river  from  the  north  22  miles  east  of  Breck- 
enridge. The  last,  45  miles  long,  in  straight  line,  receives  the  waters  of 
many  lakes,  of  which  the  largest  are  Detroit,  Cormorant,  Pelican,  Lizzie, 
and  Lida.  At  Fergus  Falls  the  Red  river  has  a  descent  of  about  85  feet, 
affording  very  valuable  water-power.  The  Rabbit  river  is  a  small  tributary 
to  the  Bois  des  Sioux  in  southern  Wilkin  county  ;  and  the  Mustinka  river, 
draining  western  Grant,  north-western  Stevens,  and  most  of  Traverse 
county,  enters  Traverse  lake  eight  miles  from  its  outlet. 


17 

The  Minnesota  river  receives  only  two  large  tributaries  from  its  north 
side,  namely,  the  Pomme  de  Terre  and  Chippewa  rivers.  The  farthest 
sources  of  the  former  are  lakes  in  Tordenskjold  and  Dane  Prairie,  Otter  Tail 
Bounty.  Its  cours-e  is  south  75  miles,  joining  the  Minnesota  river  20  miles 
below  Big  Stone  Lake.  The  Chippewa  river,  nearly  parallel  with  this  and 
lying  5  to  15  miles  farther  east,  drains  western  Douglas,  nearly  all  of  Pope, 
the  eastern  two-thirds  of  Swift,  and  the  west  half  of  Chippewa  county.  The 
other  branches  of  the  Minnesota  river  within  this  area  are  small,  none  of 
them  exceeding  30  miles  in  length,  as  Hawk  creek,  21  miles  below  the  Chip- 
pewa ;  Beaver  creek,  again  21  miles  south-east  from  the  last ;  Rush  river, 
in  southern  Sibley  county ;  Carver  creek,  at  Carver ;  and,  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  Minnesota,  Le  Sueur  and  Sand  creeks,  and  Credit  river,  in  Le 
Sueur  and  Scott  counties. 

The  watersheds  are  mostly  portions  of  wide  gently  undulating  areas, 
interspersed  with  frequent  lakes  and  sloughs,  and  have  nothing  except  their 
slightly  greater  elevations  to  distinguish  them  from  the  basins  which  they 
divide.  The  erosion  of  the  drift-sheet  by  drainage  has  been  small  in  the 
north  and  north-east  portions  of  this  region,  where  the  valleys,  as  of  Pelican 
river,  the  upper  part  of  the  Red  river,  and  the  Crow  river,  are  not  generally 
bordered  by  bluffs  between  which  the  streams  have  excavated  a  passage,  or 
by  bottom-lands  that  have  become  filled  with  their  sediment.  Instead  they 
meander  among  the  hills  and  swells  of  the  drift,  often  flowing  through 
lakes,  and  only  having  occasional  bluffs  and  alluvial  lands  along  the  lower 
part  of  their  course. 

Lake  Agassiz.  The  lacustrine  basin  of  the  Red  River  valley,  and  the  deeply 
excavated  channel  which  holds  Traverse  and  Big  Stone  lakes  and  the  Min- 
nesota river,  present  quite  different  and  more  interesting  features,  produced 
by  the  obstruction  of  drainage  in  its  present  course,  while  the  ice-sheet, 
subdued  by  a  more  temperate  climate,  was  yielding  its  ground  between 
north-western  Minnesota  and  Hudson  bay.  During  this  retreat  of  the  ice, 
great  quantities  of  water  were  supplied  by  its  melting,  loaded,  as  the 
modified  drift  shows,  with  a  large  amount  of  gravel,  sand  and  clay.  Wher- 
ever there  was  free  drainage' away  from  the  ice-front,  these  materials  were 
deposited  in  the  valleys  along  which  these  floods  descended  toward  the 
ocean.  The  high  water  of  the  rivers,  like  that  which  now  occurs  for  a  few 
days  in  the  freshets  of  spring,  was  thus  maintained  through  the  entire  sum- 
mer ;  and  this  was  repeated  yearly  till  the  glacial  sheet  had  retreated  beyond 
their  lines  of  watershed.  The  abundant  supply  of  sediment  through  this 
time  gradually  lifted  these  floods  upon  the  surface  of  thick  and  wide  plains, 
sloping  with  the  valleys.  After  the  departure  of  the  ice,  the  supply  of  both 
water  and  sediment  was  so  diminished  that  the  streams  could  no  longer 
overspread  these  flood-plains  and  add  to  their  depth,  but  were  henceforth 
occupied  mainly  in  slow  excavation  and  removal  of  these  deposits,  leaving 
remnants  of  them  as  plains  or  terraces,  often  100  to  200  feet,  or  more,  above 
their  present  channel.  The  Loess  bluffs  bordering  the  Missouri  river  are  of 
this  origin.  We  have  now  to  consider  an  area  where  such  free  drainage 
could  not  take  place,  because  the  descent  of  the  land  is  northward,  in  the 
same  direction  with  the  retreat  of  the  ice-sheet.  As  soon  as  this  receded 
beyond  the  watershed  dividing  the  basin  of  the  Minnesota  from  that  of  the 
Red  river,  it  is  evident  that  a  lake,  fed  by  the  glacial  melting,  stood  at  the 

2 


18 

foot  of  the  ice-fields,  and  extended  northward  as  they  withdrew  along  the 
valley  of  the  Red  river  to  Lake  Winnipeg,  filling  this  valley  and  its  branches 
to  the  height  of  the  lowest  point  over  which  an  outlet  could  be  found. 
Until  the  ice-barrier  was  melted  upon  the  area  now  crossed  by  the  Nelson 
river,  thereby  draining  this  glacial  lake,  its  outlet  was-  along  the  present 
course  of  the  Minnesota  river.  At  first  its  overflow  was  upon  the  nearly 
level  undulating  surface  of  the  drift,  1100  to  112* feet  above  sea,  at  the  west 
side  of  Traverse  and  Big  Stone  counties  ;  but  in  process  of  time  this  cut  a 
channel  here  100  to  150  feet  deep,  the  highest  point  of  which  is  almost 
exactly  1000  feet  above  sea.*  From  this  outlet  the  Red  River  valley,  30  to 
50  mil«s  wide,  stretches  315  miles  north  to  Lake  Winnipeg,  which  is  710  feet 
above  sea.  Along  this  entire  distance  there  is  a  very  uniform  continuous 
descent  of  a  little  less  than  one  foot  per  mile.  The  drift  contained  in  the 
ice-sheet  upon  this  area,  and  the  silt  gathered  by  glacial  rivers  from  each 
side,  were  here  deposited  in  a  lakef  shallow  near  its  mouth,  but  becoming 
gradually  deeper  northward.  At  the  north  line  of  the  United  States,  its 
depth  was  200  feet,  and  at  Lake  Winnipeg  300  feet.  Beyond  our  national 
boundary,  this  lake  covered  a  larger  area,  varying  from  100  to  200  miles  in 
breadth  at  and  west  of  Lake  Winnipeg  ;  and  its  total  length  appears  to  have 
been  at  least  600  miles.  Because  of  its  relation  to  the  retreating  continental 
ice-sheet,  it  is  proposed  to  call  this  Lake  Agassiz,  in  memory  of  the  first  prom- 
inent advocate  of  the  theory  that  the  drift  was  produced  by  land- ice. 

The  basin  of  Lake  Agassiz,  now  drained  in  its  southern  portion  by  the  Red 
river,  has  an  exceedingly  flat  surface,  sloping  imperceptibly  northward,  as 
also  from  each  side  to  its  central  line.  The  Red  river  has  its  course  in  this 
axial  depression,  where  it  hajs  cut  a  channel  20  to  60  feet  deep.  It  is  bor- 
dered by  only  few  and  narrow  areas  of  bottom-land,  instead  of  which  its 
banks  usually  rise  steeply  on  one  side  and  by  moderate  slopes  on  the  other, 
to  the  lacustrine  plain  wrhich  thence  reaches  nearly  level  10  to  25  miles  from 
the  river.  Its  tributaries  cross  the  plain  in  similar  channels,  which,  as  also 
the  Red  river,  have  occasional  gullies  connected  with  them,  dry  through 
most  of  the  year,  varying  from  a  few  hundred  feet  to  a  mile  or  more  in 
length.  Between  the  drainage  lines,  areas  o&en  5  to  15  miles  wide  remain 
unmarked  by  any  water-courses.  The  highest  portions  of  these  tracts  are 
commonly  from  2  to  5  feet  above  the  lowest.  The  material  of  the  greater 
part  of  this  ancient  lake-bed  is  fine  clayey  silt,  horizontally  stratified ;  but 
at  its  south  end,  in  Traverse  county  and  the  south  half  of  Wilkin  county,  it 
is  mostly  unstratified  boulder-clay,  which  differs  from  the  rolling  or  undu- 
lating unmodified  drift  of  the  adjoining  region  only  in  having  its  surface 
nearly  flat.  Both  these  formations  are  almost  impervious  to  wrater,  which 
therefore  in  the  rainy  season  fills  their  shallow  depressions,  but  none  of  these 
are  so  deep  as  to  form  permanent  lakes.  Even  sloughs  which  continue 
marshy  through  the  summer  are  infrequent,  but,  where  they  do  occur  cover 
large  areas,  usually  several  miles  in  extent.  In  crossing  the  vast  plain  of 
this  valley  on  clear  days,  the  higher  land  at  its  sides,  and  the  groves  along 

*  The  height  of  Lake  Traverse,  according  to  leveling  by  United  States  engineers,  in  con- 
nection with  Gen.  Warren's  survey  of  the  Minnesota  river,  is  1000  feet.  This  is  8  feet  above 
Big  Stone  lake,  from  which  it  is  separated  at  the  lowest  place  by  only  a  slight  watershed, 
perhaps  five  feet  above  Lake  Traverse.  Lake  Winnipeg,  by  the  survey  of  the  Canadian 
Pacific  railway,  is  710  feet  above  sea. 


19 

its  rivers  are  first  seen  in  the  distance  as  if  their  upper  edges  were  raised  a 
little  above  the  horizon,  with  a  very  narrow  strip  of  sky  below.  The  first 
appearance  of  the  tree-tops  thus  somewhat  resembles  that  of  dense  flocks  of 
birds  flying  very  low  several  miles  away.  By  rising  a  few  feet,  as  from  the 
ground  to  a  wagon,  or  by  nearer  approach,  the  outlines  become  clearly 
defined  as  a  grove,  with  a  mere  line  of  sky  beneath  it.  Besides  this  mirage, 
the  traveller  is  also  reminded,  in  the  same  manner  as  at  sea,  that  the  earth 
is  round.  The  surface  of  the  plain  is  seen  only  for  a  distance  of  three  or 
four  miles ;  houses  and  grain-stacks  have  their  tops  visible  first,  after  which, 
in  approaching,  they  gradually  come  into  full  view ;  and  the  highlands,  10 
or  15  miles  away,  forming  the  side  of  the  valley,  apparently  lie  beyond  a 
wide  depression,  like  a  distant  high  coast. 

In  Clay  county  the  east  side  of  Lake  Agassiz  coincided  nearly  with  the  line 
between  ranges  45  and  46.  From  the  north  line  of  the  county  to  the  North- 
ern Pacific  railroad,  the  land  rises  about  300  feet  in  going  a  few  miles  east- 
ward, and  thence  stretches  away  25  miles,  everywhere  slightly  undulating, 
but  with  little  change  in  its  general  height.  In  southern  Clay  county  and 
at  the  east  side  of  Wilkin  county,  the  east  shore  of  this  glacial  lake  ran  a 
few  degrees  east  of  south,  to  where  it  crosses  the  line  of  Otter  Tail  county, 
10  miles  west  of  Fergus  Falls.  Beyond  this  it  has  a  south-east  course  about 
six  miles  to  the  Red  river.  At  its  east  side  along  this  distance,  the  glacial 
drift  is  rolling  and  hilly,  as  already  described  in  connection  with  the  moraine, 
which  in  south-western  Otter  Tail  county  is  only  8  to  10  miles  east  of  this 
basin.  From  the  Red  river  the  lake  shore  ran  southward  through  Western 
township ;  thence  in  Grant  county  it  appears  to  curve  to  the  south-east, 
south  and  south-west.  It  crosses  the  railroad  about  a  mile  north-west  of 
Herman,  and  its  further  course  is  by  a  curve  south-west,  west,  and  north- 
west, passing  through  the  south-east  part  of  Traverse  county,  and  coming 
to  Lake  Traverse  at  its  bluffs  on  the  south  side  of  the  Mustinka  river.  Red 
and  Bois  des  Sioux  rivers  lie  15  to  20  miles  west  of  this  shore-line. 

Beaches  and  deltas,  as  well  as  the  change  from  a  smoothed  to  an  undulating 
surface,  mark  the  border  of  this  lacustrine  area.  At  and  west  of  Muskoda, 
the  Northern  Pacific  railroad  cuts  through  a  thick  and  extensive  deposit  of 
sand,  with  beds  of  gravel  and  clay  in  some  portions,  constituting  a  plain 
one  and  a  half  miles  wide.  This  extends  two  or  three  miles  to  the  north, 
and  is  also  represented  by  similar  accumulations  south  of  the  Buffalo  river, 
which  here  enters  the  area  formerly  covered  by  Lake  Agassiz.  These  beds 
have  their  surface  1075  to  1100  feet  above  sea,  being  100  feet  below  the 
adjoining  uplands  on  the  east,  and  150  feet  above  the  lacustrine  plain,  which 
begins  two  miles  farther  west  and  extends  15  miles  to  the  Red  river.  They 
appear  to  be  the  delta  brought  down  by  the  Buffalo  river  and  spread  in  the 
side  of  the  lake  at  its  mouth.  Since  the  drainage  of  the  lake  the  river  has 
excavated  a  large  gap  through  this  deposit.  A  sixth  of  a  mile  east  of  Mus- 
koda station,  at  the  east  edge  of  the  delta-plain,  is  a  ridge  of  interbedded 
gravel  and  sand,  25  rods  wide  and  10  feet  high,  with  its  top  about  1110  feet 
above  sea.  A  fine  section  is  exposed  by  its  excavation  for  railroad  ballast, 
showing  the  stratification  to  be  mainly  level,  but  inclined  at  the  sides  par- 
allel with  the  gently  sloping  surface.  This  beach  ridge  or  bar  extends  about 
a  half  mile  from  nortfi  to  south.  It  is  separated  from  the  higher  land  east- 
ward by  a  depression  about  10  feet  deep  and  a  quarter  of  a  mile  wide.  Mar- 


20 

ginal  deposits  of  considerable  extent,  like  the  plain  of  Muskoda,  are  only 
found  where  some  stream  entered  the  lake ;  but  beach  ridges,  similar  to  the 
foregoing,  were  noted  at  several  places  in  crossing  the  shore- line  of  this 
lake,  and,  when  attention  is  given  to  tracing  them,  will  probably  be  found 
continuous  through  long  distances.  Such  a  ridge  crosses  the  no,rtli  line  of 
Wilkin  county  near  the  north-west  corner  of  sec.  4,  t.  136,  r.  45,  extending 
at  least  one  and  a  half  miles  from  north  to  south.*  It  was  again  crossed  near 
the  south-east  corner  of  sec.  21,  Western,  where  the  road  from  Fergus  Falls 
to  Campbell  turns  from  a  south-west  to  a  more  nearly  west  course.  Here 
the  ascent  from  its  east  side  is  10  feet,  and  the  descent  at  the  west  about  20. 
The  width  of  the  ridge,  including  its  slopes,  is  20  or  25  rods.  About  a  mile 
farther  west  the  road  crosses  a  second  ridge  of  half  this  size,  about  20  feet 
below  the  first.  One  and  a  half  miles  north-west  from  Herman  is  a  beach- 
ridge  15  feet  above  the  lacustrine  plain  at  its  north-west  side.  The  depres- 
sion south-east  of  it  is  6  or  7  feet  deep  and  30  rods  wide,  and  from,  this  there 
is  an  ascent  of  about  15  feet  to  the  plain  of  Herman,  which  was  therefore 
above  the  level  of  the  lake  when  this  beach  was  formed.  Three  miles  far- 
ther north-west  (at  the  183rd  mile-post  of  the  railroad)  is  a  smaller  beach- 
ridge.  The  top  of  this  is  about  1035,  and  of  that  near  Herman  about  1055 
feet  above  sea.  All  these  beaches  consist  "of  sand  and  water- worn  gravel ; 
and  in  Western  and  Herman  it  is  noteworthy  that  all  the  adjoining  aretes  are 
boulder  clay.  It  is  expected  that  a  full  exploration  of  these  shore-lines  will 
be  made  before  the  completion  of  this  survey,  so  that  the  final  report  shall 
contain  a  map  of  this  lake,  so  far  as  it  lay  within  the  limits  of  Minnesota. 

The  Outlet  of  Lake  Agassiz.  The  excavation  of  the  remarkable  valley  occu- 
pied by  the  Minnesota  river  was  first  explained  in  1868  by  Gen.  G.  K.  Warren, 
who  attributed  it  to  the  outflow  from  this  ancient  lake  that  filled  the  basin 
of  Red  river  and  Lake  Winnipeg.  This  valley  or  channel  begins  at  the 
northern  part  of  Lake  Traverse,  and  first  extends  south-west  to  the  head  of 
this  lake,  thence  south-east  to  Mankato,  and  next  north  and  north-east  to 
the  Mississippi  at  Fort  Snelling,  its  length  being  about  250  miles.  Its  width 
varies  from  one  to  four  miles,  and  its  depth  is  from  100  to  225  feet.  The 
country  through  which  it  lies,  as  far  as  to  Carver,  about  25  miles  above  its 
junction  with  the  Mississippi,  is  a  nearly  level  expanse  of  till,  only  moder- 
ately undulating,  with  no  prominent  hills  or  notable  depressions,  excepting 
this  deep  channel  and  those  formed  by  its  tributary  streams.  Below  Carver 
it  intersects  the  hilly  morainic  belt  which  has  been  already  described.  Its 
entire  course  is  through  a  region  of  unmodified  drift,  which  has  no  exposures 
of  solid  rock  at  its  surface  within'  long  distances  upon  each  side.  Probably 
no  other  channel  of  equal  extent  and  depth  has  been  eroded  in  till  upon 
either  this  or  the  old  continent. 

Bluffs  in  slopes  from  20°  to  40°,  and  rising  100  to  200  feet  to  the  general 
level  of  the  country,  form  the  sides  of,  this  trough-like  valley.  They  have 
been  produced  by  the  washing  away  of  their  base,  leaving  the  upper  portion 
to  fall  down  and  thus  take  its  steep  slopes.  The  river  in  deepening  its 
channel  has  been  constantly  changing  its  course,  so  that  its  current  has  been 
turned  alternately  against  the  opposite  sides  of  its  valley,  at  some  time 
undermining  every  portion  of  them.  In  a  few  places  this  process  is  still 
going  forward,  but  mainly  the  course  of  the  Minnesota  river  is  in  the  bottom- 
land, which  descends  in  gentle  or  often  broken  slopes  10  to  40  or  50  feet 


21 

within  one  fourth  to  one  half  mile  from  the  foot  of  the  bluffs ;  then  becoming 
the  present  flood-plain,  one  eighth  to  one  half  mile,  or  rarely  one  mile  or 
more,  in  width,  with  its  height  5  or  10  feet  above  ordinary  low  water.  Com- 
paratively little  excavation  has  been  done  by  the  present  river.  As  we 
approach  its  source,  it  dwindles  to  a  small  stream,  flowing  through  long 
lakes,  and  we  finally  pass  to  Lake  Traverse,  which  empties  northward  ;  yet 
along  the  upper  Minnesota  and  at  the  divide  between  this  and  Red  river, 
this  valley  or  channel  and  its  enclosing  bluffs  are  as  remarkable  as  along  the 
lower  part  of  Minnesota  river.  It  is  thus  clearly  shown  to  'have  been  the 
outlet  of  Lake  Agassiz,  excavated  while  the  melting  ice-sheet  supplied  extra- 
ordinary floods,  much  greater  in  volume  than  the  combined  waters  of  the 
Minnesota  and  Nelson  rivers  at  the  present  time. 

This  valley  in  many  places  cuts  through  the  sheet  of  drift,  and  reaches  the 
underlying  rocks,  which  have  frequent  exposures  along  its  entire  course 
below  Big  Stone  lake.  Their  contour  is  much  more  uneven  than  that  of  the 
drift.  In  the  100  miles  from  Big  Stone  lake  to  Fort  Ridgely  the  strata  are 
metainorphic  gneisses  and  granites,  which  often  fill  the  entire  vallev,  one  to 
two  miles  wide,  rising  in  a  profusion  of  knolls  and  hills,  50  to  100  feet  above 
the  river.  The  depth  eroded  has  been  limited  here  by  the  presence  of  these 
rocks,  among  which  the  river  flows  in  a  winding  course,  crossing  them  at 
many  places  in  rapids  or  falls.  From  New  Ulm  to  its  mouth  the  river  is  at 
many  places  bordered  by  Cretaceous  and  Lower  Silurian  rocks,  which  are 
nearly  level  in  stratification.  These  vary  in  height  from  a  few  feet  to  50  or 
rarely  75  or  100  feet  above  the  river.  From  Mankato  to  Ottawa  the  river 
occupies  a  valley  cut  in  Shakopee  limestone  underlain  by  Jordan  sandstone, 
which  form  frequent  bluffs  upon  both  sides,  50  to  75  feet  high.  After  exca- 
vating the  overlying  125  to  150  feet  of  till,  the  river  here  found  a  former 
valley,  eroded  by  pre-glacial  streams.  Its  bordering  walls  of  rock,  varying 
from  one  fourth  mile  to  at  least  two  miles  apart,  are  in  many  portions  of 
this  distance  concealed  by  drift,  which  alone  forms  one  or  both  sides  of 
the  valley.  The  next  point  at  which  the  river  is  seen  to  be  enclosed  by  rock- 
walls,  is  in  its  last  two  miles,  where  it  flows  between  bluffs  of  Trenton  lime- 
stone underlain  by  St.  Peter  sandstone,  100  feet  high,  and  about  a  mile 
apart.  This  also  is  a  pre-glacial  channel,  its  farther  continuation  being 
occupied  by  the  Mississippi  river.  The  only  erosion  effected  by  the  Minne- 
sota river  here  since  the  glacial  period  has  been  to  clear  away  a  part  of  the 
drift  with  which  the  valley  was  then  filled.  Its  depth  at  some  earlier  time 
was  much  greater  than  now,  as  -shown  by  the  salt-well  on  the  bottom-land 
of  the  Minnesota  river  at  Belle  Plaine,  where  202  feet  of  stratified  gravel, 
sand  and  clay  were  penetratad  before  reaching  the  rock.  The  bottom  of  the 
pre-glacial  channel  there  is  thus  at  least  175  feet  lower  than  the  mouth  of 
the  Minnesota  river.  The  excavation  of  the  drift  down  to  the  old  rocks  by 
the  outflow  from  Lake  Agassiz,  enables  us  to  estimate  approximately  the 
depth  of  the  general  drift-sheet  upon  this  part  of  Minnesota.  It  probably 
averages  about  150  feet. 

Heights  of  the  bluffs,  which  form  the  sides  of  this  valley,  composed  of 
till  enclosing  layers  of  gravel  and  sand  in  some  places,  and  frequently  having 
rock  at  their  base,  are  as  follows,  stated  in  feet  above  the  lakes  and  river : 
along  the  south  part  of  Lake  Traverse,  100  to  125  ;  at  Brown's  Valley  and 
along  Big  Stone  lake,  mainly  about  125,  the  highest  portions  reaching  150  ; 


22 

at  Ortonville,  130 ;  at  Lac  qui  Fade  and  Montevideo,  100  ;  at  Granite  Fails, 
150 ;  at  Minnesota  Falls,  165  ;  thence  to  Redwood  Falls,  Fort  Ridgely  and 
New  Ulm,  165  to  180  ;  at  Mankato  200  to  225  ;  at  St.  Peter  and  Ottawa,  220 
to  230 ;  at  LeSueur  and  Henderson,  210  to  225  ;  at  Belle  Plaine  and  Jordan, 
about  230  ;  and  at  Shakopee  210  to  220.  The  morainic  hills  through  which 
this  valley  extends  below  Shakopee  are  225  to  250  feet  in  height.  The  ele- 
vation of  Minnesota  river  above  the  sea  is  given  5n  a  following  page.  The 
expanse  of  till  through  which  this  channel  is  eroded  slopes  from  1125  feet 
above  sea  at  Big  Stone  lake  to  975  at  Mankato,  in  140  miles  ;  and  thence  it 
descends  to  925  at  Shakopee,  in  50  miles.  This  channel,  as  far  as  to  Man- 
kato, lies  nearly,  midway  between  the  terminal  moraine  previously  described 
and  the  Coteau  des  Prairies,  toward  each  of  which  there  is  a  very  slight 
ascent,  sufficient  to  cause  drainage  to  follow  this  central  line. 

Lakes  Traverse  and  Big  Stone  are  from  one  to  one  and  a  half  miles  wide, 
mainly  occupying  the  entire  area  between  the  bases  of  the  bluffs.  Lake 
Traverse  is  23  miles  long ;  it  is  mostly  less  than  10  feet  deep,  and  its  greatest 
depth  probably  does  not  reach  20  feet.  Big  Stone  lake  is  26  miles  long,  and 
its  greatest  depth  is  reported  to  be  from  15  to  30  feet.  The  portion  of  the 
channel  between  these  lakes  is  widely  known  as  Brown's  Valley.  As  we 
stand  upon  the  bluffs  here,  looking  down  125  feet  on  these  long  and  narrow 
lakes  in  their  trough-like  valley,  which  extends  across  the  five  miles  between 
them,  where  the  basins  of  Hudson  bay  and  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  are  now 
divided,  we  have  nearly  the  picture  which  was  presented  when  the  melting 
ice-sheet  of  British  America  was  pouring  its  floods  along  this  hollow.  Then 
the  entire  extent  of  the  valley  was  doubtless  filled  every  summer  by  a  river 
which  covered  all  the  present  areas  of  flood-plain,  in  many  places  occupying 
as  great  width  as  these  lakes. 

Gen.  Warren  observes  that  Lake  Traverse  is  probably  due  to  a  partial 
silting  up  of  the  channel  since  the  outflow  from  the  Red  River  basin  ceased, 
the  Minnesota  river  at  the  south  having  brought  in  sufficient  alluvium  to 
form  a  dam ;  while  Big  Stone  lake  is  similarly  referred  to  the  sediment 
brought  into  the  valley  just  below  it  by  Whetstone  river.  The  deep,  wind- 
ing channel  of  the  Whetstone  river  near  its  mouth  is  quite  remarkable  ;  and 
its  level  alluvium,  about  5  feet  above  the  lake,  fills  the  valley,  a  mile  wide 
between  Big  Stone  City  and  Ortonville. 

Fifteen  miles  below  Big  Stone  lake,  the  Minnesota  river  flows  through  a 
marshy  lake  four  miles  long  and  about  a  mile  wide.  This  may  be  due  to 
the  accumulation  of  alluvium  brought  into  the  valley  by  the  Pomme  de 
Terre  river,  which  has  its  mouth  about  two  miles  below.  Twenty- five  miles 
from  Big  Stone  lake,  the  river  enters  Lac  qui  Parle,  which  extends  8  miles, 
with  a  width  varying  from  one-half  to  three-fourths  of  a  mile  and  a  maxi- 
mum depth  of  12  feet.  This  lake,  as  Gen.  Warren  suggests,  has  been  formed 
by  a  barrier  of  stratified  sand  and  silt  which  the  Lac  qui  Parle  river  has 
thrown  across  the  valley.  He  also  shows  that  Lake  Pepin  on  the  Mississippi 
is  dammed  in  the  same  way  by  the  sediment  of  the  Chippewa  river ;  and 
that  Lake  St.  Croix  and  the  last  30  miles  of  the  Minnesota  river  are  simi- 
larly held  as  level  back-water  by  the  recent  deposits  of  the  Mississippi. 

All  the  tributaries  of  the  Minnesota  river  have  cut  deeply  into  the  drift, 
because  the  main  valley  has  given  them  the  requisite  slope.  The  largest  of 
these  extend  many  miles,  and  have  their  mouths  level  with  the  bottom-land 


23 

of  the  Minnesota  river.  The  bluffs  of  all  these  valleys  are  also  everywhere 
seamed  and  gullied  by  frequent  rills  and  springs,  many  of  which  flow  only 
after  rains.  Few  of  the  large  inlets  have  any  great  amount  of  sediment 
deposited  opposite  their  mouths,  showing  that  their  excavation  was  mostly 
done  at  the  same  time  with  that  of  the  main  valley.  The  short  ravines  are 
more  recent  in  their  origin,  and  the  material  that  filled  their  place  is  com- 
monly spread  in  fan-shaped,  moderately  sloping  banks  below  their  mouths, 
which  are  thus  kept  at  a  height  from  30  to  40  feet  above  the  present  flood- 
plain.  The  road  from  Fort  Ridgely  to.  New  Ulm  runs  along  the  side  of  the 
bluff  at  the  only  height  where  a  nearly  level  straight  course  could  be 
obtained,  being  just  above  these  deposits  and  below  the  ravines. 

The  valleys  of  the  Pomine  de  Terre  and  Chippewa  rivers,  75  to  100  feet 
•deep  along  most  of  their  course,  and  one-fourth  mile  to  one  mile  in  width, 
were  probably  avenues  of  drainage  from  the  melting  ice-fields  in  their  north- 
ward retreat.  Between  these  rivers,  in  the  22  miles  from  Appleton  to  Monte- 
video, the  glacial  floods  at  first  flowed  in  several  channels,  which  are 
•excavated  40  to  80  feet  below  the  general  level  of  the  drift-sheet,  and  vary 
from  one-eighth  to  one-half  mile  in  width.  One  of  these,  starting  from  the 
t>end  of  the  Pomme  de  Terre  river,  1^  miles  east  of  Appleton,  extends  15 
miles  south-east  to  the  Chippewa  river  near  the  center  of  Tunsburg.  This 
old  channel  is  joined  at  Milan  station  by  another,  which  branches  off  from 
the  Minnesota  valley,  running  four  miles  east-south-east ;  it  is  also  joined 
at  the  north-west  corner  of  Tunsburg  by  a  very  notable  channel  which 
•extends  eastward  from  the  middle  of  Lac  qui  Parle.  The  latter  channel, 
.and  its  continuation  in  the  old  Pomme  de  Terre  valley  to  the  Chippewa 
river,  are  excavated  nearly  as  deep  as  the  channel  occupied  by  the  Minne- 
sota river.  Its  west  portion  holds  a  marsh  generally  known  as  the  "Big 
Slough."  Lac  qui  Parle  would  have  to  be  raised  only  a  few  feet  to  turn  it 
through  this  deserted  valley.  The  only  other  localities  where  we  have  proof 
that  the  outflow  from  Lake  Agassiz  had  more  than  one  channel  are  7  and  10 
miles  below  Big  Stone  lake,  where  isolated  remnants  of  the  general  sheet  of 
till  occur  south  of  Odessa  station  and  again  three  miles  south-east.  Each 
of  these  former  islands  is  about  a  mile  long,  and  rises  75  feet  above  the  sur- 
rounding low  land,  or  nearly  as  high  as  the  bluffs  enclosing  the  valley, 
which  here  measures  four  miles  across,  having  a  greater  width  than  at  any 
•other  point. 

ELEVATIONS. 

In  connection  with  the  foregoing  description  of  topographic  features,  it 
;seems  desirable  to  present  the  series  of  altitudes  which  have  been  deter- 
mined in  this  region  by  railroad  and  other  surveys.  They  are  mostly  copied 
from  Prof.  Winchell's  first  annual  report  as  geologist  of  Minnesota,  in 
which  they  were  referred  to  Lake  Superior  as  a  datum,  calling  it  600  feet 
^bove  sea.  Since  that  publication,  the  researches  of  Messrs.  Gardner  and 
Gannett,  of  the  U.  S.  Geological  Survey  of  the  Territories,  have  shown  the 
height  of  Lake  Superior  to  be  609.4  feet  above.,  mean  tide.  The  correction 
which  this  requires  is  adopted  in  the  following  tables  ;  and  in  those  gathered 
from  later  reports  a  few  other  changes  are  made,  as  called  for  by  determin- 
ations of  other  datum  points,  mainly  following  Gannett's  Lists  of  Elevations, 
fourth  edition.  These  heights  are  stated  in  feet  above  mean  sea-level : 


Northern  Pacific  Railroad. 


Lake  Superior, 609.4 

Brainerd, 1214 

Mississippi  river  (bed), 1147 

Wadena, 1358 

Leaf  river  (bed), 1316 

New  York  Mills, 1418 

Otter  Tail  river  (bed), 1327 

Perham, 1375 

Hobart, 1393 

Pelican  river  (bed) 1346 

Detroit, 1371 

Oak  Lake  station,   1376 


Audubon, 1317 

Lake  Park, 1342 

Hawley, 1159 

Muskoda, 1092 

Buffalo  rh^r  (bed), 947 

Glyndon,  932 

Moorhead, 913- 

Red  river,  low  water, 851 

Red  river,  high  water 885 

Fargo,    912 

Jamestown,    1415 

Missouri  river,  at  Bismarck, .  1649 


St.  Paul,  Minneapolis  &  Manitoba  Railroad, 
a.    From  St.  Cloyd  to  St.  Vincent. 


East  Saint  Cloud, 

Mississippi  river,  low  water, 

West  Saint  Cloud, 

Osakis, 

Victoria, 

Alexandria, 

Ida,  .  


Chippewa  river,  track, 

Chippewa  river,  water, 

Evansville, 

Summit,  1  m.  beyond  last, 

Christina,  

St.  Olaf , 

Summit,  2^  m.  beyond  last, . . 
Pomme  de  Terre  river,  track, . 
Pomme  de  Terre  river,  water,. 


1020 
962 
1034 
1337 
1375 
1391 
1411 
1369 
1339 
1354 
1378 
1228 
1344 
1366 
1239 
1205 


Red  river,  at  'Dayton  bridge, . 
Creek-bed  near  Barnesville, . 

Track  on  bridge  here, 

Glyndon, , 

Buffalo  river,  track, 

Buffalo  river,  water, 

Averill, 

Felton, 

Borup, , 

Wild  Rice  river,  track, 

Wild  Rice  river,  water, 

Red  Lake  river,  track, 

Red  Lake  river,  water, 

Saint  Vincent, 

Red  river,  low  water, 

Red  river,  high  water, 


1071 

997 
1012 
932 
928 
915 
927 
925 
921 
919 
910 
857 
850- 
801 
76T 
796- 


5. — From  St.  Paul  to  Breckenridge. 


Saint  Paul, 698.4 

Minneapolis, 830 

Lake  Minnetonka,  water, 922 

Delano, 923 

Waverly, 1007 

Twelve  Mile  Creek, 995 

Howard  Lake  sta. , 1049 

Smith  Lake  sta., 1049 

Cokato, 1022 

Darwin, 1127 

Litchfield, 1125 

Swede  Grove, 1186 

Atwater, 1207 

Summit ,  4)^  miles  beyond  last,  1264 

Kandiyohi, 1216 

Willmar, 1124 

St.  John's, 1116 

Kirkhoven, 1104 

De  Graff, ...  1056 


Benson, 

Chippewa  river,  track, 

Chippewa  river,  water, 

Clontarf, 

Hancock, 

Summit,  1%  miles  beyond  last,. 
Pomme  de  Terre  river,  track,. 
Pomme  de  Terre  river,  water,. 

Morris, 

Summit,  2  miles  beyond  last,. 

Donnelly, 

Herman, 

Mustinka  creek, 

Gorton, 

Tintah, 

Campbell, 

Doran, 

Breckenridge, 


1042 

1030 

1021 

1041 

1150 

1167 

1073 

1062 

1122 

1151 

1121 

1063 

1021 

1017 

991 

977 

968 

95T 


25 


Hastings  &•  Dakota  Railroad. 

(Corrected  at  and  west  of  Shakopee  to  agree  with  the  height  of  Minnesota  river  at  tha 
place.) 

Hastings, 709.4 

Farmington, 900.6 

Prior  Lake  sta. , 954 

Prior  Lake,  water, 914 

Shakopee, 768 

Minnesota  river,  low  water, . .  704.5 

Minnesota  river,  high  water,  731 


Chaska, 740 

Carver, 827 

Dahlgren, 994 

Benton, 959 

Young  America, 1002 

Tiger  lake,  water, 991 

Glencoe, 1015 


Winona  &  St.  Peter  Railroad. 


Winona, 652.65 

Lewiston, 1211 

Rochester, 990 

Owatonna, 1047 

Mankato, 779 

Kasota, 837 

St.  Peter, 810 

Minnesota  river,  high  water,      754 


Oshawa, 980 

Nicollet, 978 

Minnesota  river,  high  water, . . .  808 

New  Ulm, 835 

Sleepy  Eye, 1032 

Marshall, 1173 

State  line, 1475 

Summit  of  Coteau,  22  ms.  W.,..  1999 


St.  Paul  &  Sioux  City  Railroad. 

The  profile  of  this  line,  stated  on  p.  38  of  Gannett's  Lists  of  Elevations,  and  derived  from 
the  first  annual  report  on  the  Geology  of  Minnesota,  ie  50  feet,  approximately,  too  high,  as 
compared  with  the  determination  of  Minnesota  river  by  the  U.  S.  Engineer  Corps. 

Survey  for  Minnesota  Northern  Railroad. 

Wadena, ...  1358  Bass  lake, 1333 

Pease  Prairie,  t.  133,  r.  38, 1459  Red  river  at  Fergus  Falls, 1181 

Clitherall  lake, 1341  Top  of  dam  at  Pelican  Rapids,  1311 

Turtle  lake 1331 


Survey  for  Hutchinson  Branch  of  the  Minneapolis  &  Northwestern  Railway. 


Top  of  Watertown  dam, 925 

Ocean  marsh,  7  ms.  W., 997 

Winsted  lake, 994 


Swan  lake, 1045 

Crow  river,  low  water, 1029 

Hutchinson, 1042 


Mississippi  River. 


Lake  Itasca, 1575 

Mouth  of  Leech  Lake  river, . .  1356 
Mouth  of  Sandy  Lake  river,  1253 
Mouth  of  Crow  Wing  river, . .  1130 

At  head  of  Sauk  Rapids, 991 

Saint  Cloud,  low  water, 962 

Top  of  Saint  Anthony's  falls, 

low  water, 800 

One-half  mile  below  Saint  An- 
thony's falls,  low  water, . . .     721 
Mouth  of  Minnesota  river,  low 

water, 704.4 

Saint  Paul,  low  water, 685.4 

Saint  Paul,  high  water, 706.4 

Hastings,  low  water, 670.5 


Lake  City,  low  water, 

Winona,  low  water, 

La  Crosse,  low  water, 

Dubuque,  low  water, 

Keokuk,  low  water  of  1851, . . 
Keokuk,  high  water  of  1851, 

Saint  Louis,  low  water, 

Saint  Louis,  high  water  of  1844 
Cairo,  ordinary  low  water, . . . 

Cairo,  low  water  of  1871, 

Cairo,  high  water  of  1867, .... 

Memphis,  low  water, 

Memphis,  high  water,. .   

Natchez,  low  water, 

Baton  Rouge,  low  water, .... 


664.2 

639.9 

626.3 

599.1 

481.8 

502.5 

394.5 

435.9- 

291.2 

279.3 

333 

184 

219 

66 

34 


26 

Minnesota  River,  low- water  slope. 
(Levels  by  U.  S.  Engineer  Corps.) 


Big  Stone  lake, 992.80 

Pomme  de  Terre  river, 962.68 

Lac  qui  Parle, 954.04 

Cliippewa  river, 939.84 

Foot  of  Minnesota  Falls 883.14 

Yellow  Medicine  river, 875.12 

Redwood  river, 831.67 

Fort  Ridgely,  807.39 

Big  Cottonwood  river, 795.92 

Judson, 773. 78 

South  Bend, 769.2 

Blue  Earth  river. 768.9 


Mankato, 765. 7 

Saint  Peter, 743.4 

Ottawa, .  *. 736 

LeSueur, 729.2 

East  Henderson, 724. 8 

Henderson, , 723.4 

Faxon, 713.4 

Belle  Plaine, 709.8 

Crest  of  Little  Rapids, 706 

Foot  of  Little  Rapids, 704.8 

Mouth,  704.4 


Red  River  of  the  North. 


Lake  Traverse, 1000.5' 

Otter  Tail  lake,  1325 

Fergus  Falls, 1181 

Dayton  bridge, 1071 

Breckenridge, 940 


Moorhead,  low  water,  851 

Moorhead,  high  water, 885 

Saint  Vincent,  low  water,     767 

Saint  Vincent,  high  water, 796 

Lake  Winnipeg, 710 


TJie  Great  Lakes. 

Superior,  609.40  I  Erie, 573.08 

Michigan  and  Huron, 589.15  |  Ontario,  250 

FOREST  AND  PRAIRIE. 

A  considerable  part  of  the  area  included  under  this  report  is  well  timbered. 
These  forests  at  their  borders  and  around  the  few  prairies  which  they 
enclose,  become  gradually  more  open  with  fewer  and  smaller  trees,  or  form 
scattered  groves,  with  intervening  bushes  or  grass-land.  The  wooded  part 
of  this  district  is  its  north-east  and  east  side,  and  takes  in  nearly  all  of 
Becker  and  Otter  Tail  counties,  in  which  its  west  boundary  extends  from 
the  White  Earth  Agency  south  to  the  Northern  Pacific  railroad ;  thence 
west  by  Audubon,  and  then  south  by  Cormorant,  Pelican,  Lizzie  and  Prairie 
lakes  ;  in  Erhard's  Grove  and  Elizabeth,  it  includes  a  few  miles  on  the  west 
side  of  Pelican  river  ;  and  next  bends  south  eastward,  passing  by  the  north 
side  of  Fergus  Falls,  to  Wall  lake  and  the  north  edge  of  St.  Olaf .  Through 
the  center  of  Otter  Tail  county  the  woods  of  its  east  and  west  portions  are 
divided  by  a  nearly  continuous  belt  destitute  of  forest,  averaging  about  six 
miles  wide,  which  reaches  from  Lake  Christina  to  Clitherall,  Otter  Tail  and 
Rush  lakes,  and  onward  by  Perham  to  the  North  line  of  the  county.  About 
half  of  Douglas  county  is  forest,  very  irregularly  bounded,  its  south-west 
limit  being  in  the  vicinity  of  Lakes  Oscar  and  Mary.  Pope  county  has  only 
scattered  groves,  sometimes  one  or  two  miles  wide,  but  separated  from  each 
other  by  yet  wider  areas  of  prairie,  which  include  probably  nineteen-twen- 
tieths  of  the  county.  Kandiyohi  county  has  an  area  of  forest  15  miles  long 
from  west  to  east  and  3  to  10  miles  wide,  lying  north-west,  north  and  north- 
east of  Green  lake ;  also,  groves  of  small  extent,  found  frequently  on  the 
borders  of  lakes  in  all  parts  of  the  county  except  its  south-west  quarter. 

The  Big  Woods.    In  Meeker  county  and  others  at  the  east  and  south-east, 
a,  belt  of  timber  about  45  miles  wide  extends  nearly  one  hundred  miles  from 


27 

north  to  south,  commonly  called  the  "Big  Woods."  Like  the  woods  of 
Becker,  Otter  Tail  and  Douglas  counties,  it  is  connected  northward  with 
the  great  forest  that  overspreads  nearly  all  of  northern  and  north-eastern 
Minnesota.  The  west  border  of  the  Big  Woods  crosses  Meeker  county  in  an 
irregular  line  that  has  frequent  indentations  and  spurs,  passing  from  the 
northwest  corner  of  the  count}'-  south-east  and  south  by  Manannah,  Forest 
City  and  Darwin,  to  Greenleaf.  This  boundary  between  forest  on  the  east 
and  prairie  on  the  west,  enters  McLeod  county  at  its  north-west  corner,  and 
runs  south-eastward  across  this  and  Sibley  counties,  by  Hutchinson,  Glencoe, 
New  Auburn  and  Arlington.  Through  Nicollet  county  the  forest  occupies 
a  width  of  two  to  four  miles  along  the  west  side  of  Minnesota  river  to  Man- 
kato  and  South  Bend.  It  also  extends  in  about  the  same  amount  along  the 
north  side  of  Minnesota  river  for  15  miles  above  Mankato  ;  and  Timber  lake, 
6  miles  north-west  from  St.  Peter,  is  bordered  by  broad  wood  lands. 

East  of  this  line,  the  Big  woods  cover  all  of  Wright,  Carver,  Scott  and  Le 
Sueur  counties,  excepting  small  enclosed  prairies  and  the  bottom-lands  and 
terraces  of  modified  drift  within  the  valley  of  the  Minnesota  river.  Beyond 
South  Bend  the  boundary  of  this  timbered  belt  is  a  few  miles  outside  the 
limit  of  my  exploration.  Prof.  Winchell,  in  a  former  report,  states  that  its 
course  bends  eastward  in  Blue  Earth  county,  passing  near  Janesville,  and 
about  six  miles  north  of  Waseca.  Thence  it  turns  north-east  to  Fari- 
bault  and  Cannon  City,  from  which  a  spur  of  forest  reaches  south  along  the 
east  side  of  Straight  river  to  Owatonna.  The  east  border  of  the  Big  Woods 
has  a  nearly  north  course,  passing  from  Cannon  City  to  Northfield,  Lake- 
ville,  and  the  west  edge  of  Minneapolis. 

Limits  of  Species.  Many  trees,  shrubs  and  herbs  that  flourish  northward, 
have  their  southern  limit  at  a  line  north-east  and  north  of  the  Big  Woods ; 
while  the  forest  of  Becker,  Otter  Tail  and  Douglas  counties  contains  them 
only  in  its  north-east  part.  Among  these  northern  species  are  white,  red 
and  gray  pines,  black  spruce,  balsam  fir,  low  blueberry,  and  cranberry. 
Most  of  these  were  seen  in  the  township  of  Spruce  Hill  at  the  north  east 
corner  of  Douglas  county,  which  seems  to  be  their  only  occurrence  in  that 
county.  Thence  they  are  found  sparingly  northward  to  the  Northern  Pacific 
railroad,  beyond  which  are  valuable  pineries,  beginning  at  New  York  Mills, 
Pine  lakes,  and  Frazee  City,  and  extending  indefinitely  to  the  north  and  north- 
east. None  of  these  species  are  found  in  the  Big  Woods,  which  however 
contain  others,  as  cottonwood,  bitternut,  wild  crab-apple,  and  frost  grape, 
that  are  rare  or  wanting  in  the  northern  forest. 

List  of  Trees  and  Shrubs.  The  following  species  of  trees  and  shrubs  have 
been  observed  in  Becker  and  Otter  Tail  counties,  by  Mr.  R.  L.  Frazee,  man- 
ufacturer of  lumber  at  Frazee  City,  Becker  county :  white  pine  (Pinus 
Sfrobus,  L.),  red  (commonly  called  Norway)  pine  (P.  resinosa,  Ait.),  and  gray 
or  Banks'  pine,  often  called  "jack  pine"  (P.  Banksiana,  Lambert),  black 
spruce  (Abies  nigra,  Poir.),  balsam'  fir  (Abies  balsamea,  Marshall),  balsam 
poplar  (Populus  balsamifera,  L.),  paper  or  canoe  birch  (Betula  papyracea, 
Ait.),  and  beaked  hazelnut  (Corylus  rostrata,  Ait.),  common  north-east  from 
the  Northern  Pacific  railroad ;  white  elm  ( Ulmus  Americana,  L.),  bass  (Tilia 
Americana,  L.),  sugar  maple  (Acer  saccharinum,  Wang.),  box-elder  (Negundo 
aceroides,  Moench),  black  ash  (Fraxinus  sambucifotia,  Lam.),  bur  and  white 
oak  (Quercus  macrocarpa,  Michx.,  and  Q.  alba,  L.),  ironwood  (Ostrya  Vir- 


28 

ginica,  Willd.),  species  of  willow  (Salix),  poplar  or  aspen  (Populus  tremuloides, 
Michx.),  tamarack  (Larix  Americana,  Michx.),  prickly  ash  (Zanthoxylum  Amer- 
icanum,  Mill.),  smooth  sumac  (Rhus  glabra,  L.),  climbing  bittersweet  (Celas- 
trus  scandens,  L.),  wild  plum,  wild  red  chefVy  and  choke  cherry  (Primus 
Americana,  Marshall,  P.  Pennsylvania,  L.,  and  P.  Virginiana,  L.),  ninebark 
(Spircea  opulifolta,  L.),  raspberry  and  high  blackberry  (Rubus  strigosus,  Michx., 
and  R.  villosus,  Ait.),  thorn  (Oratcegus,}  Juneberry  (Amelanchier  Canadensis, 
T.  &  G.),  prickly  and  smooth  gooseberries  (Ribes  Cynosbati,  L.,  and  R.  Mr- 
tellum,  Michx.,)  black  currant  (Ribes  floridum,  L.),  wolf  berry  (SympJioricarpus 
occidentalis,  R.  Brown),  high  bush  cranberry  (Viburnum  Opulus,  L.),  and 
hazelnut  (Corylus  Americana,  Walt.)  common  generally  ;  slippery  or  red  elm 
( Ulmus  fulva,  Micheli),  black  oak  (Q.  coccinea,  var  tinctoria),  large-toothed 
poplar  (P.  grandidentata,  Michx.),  and  black  cherry  (P.  serotina,  Ehrhart), 
less  frequent ;  red  oak  (Q.  rubra,  L.),  soft  or  red  maple  (Acer  rubrum,  L.)r 
black  raspberries  (Rubus  occidentalis^  L.),  and  elder  (Sambucus  Canademis, 
L.),  scarce;  cottonwood  (populm  monilifera,  Ait.),  seen  rarely  about  the 
shores  of  lakes ;  and  hackberry  (Celtis  occidentalis,  L.),  known  only  at  one 
place,  near  Lake  Lida. 

The  Big  Woods  are  principally  made  up  of  the  following  species  of  trees  : 
white  or  American  elm,  bass,  sugar  maple,  black  and  bur  oaks,  butternut, 
slippery  or  red  elm,  soft  or  red  maple,  bitternut,  white  and  black  ash,  iron- 
wood,  wild  plum,  Juneberry,  American  crab-apple,  common  poplar  or 
aspen,  large-toothed  poplar,  tamarack  (in  swamps),  box-elder,  black  cherry y 
cottonwood  (beside  rivers  and  lakes),  water  beech,  willows,  hackberry,  paper 
or  canoe  birch,  white  oak,  and  red  cedar.  This  list,  in  which  the  arrange- 
ment is  according  to  the  estimated  order  of  abundance,  is  given  by  Prof. 
Winchell  for  Hennepin  county,  in  his  fifth  annual  report,  p.  142 ;  but  it 
appears  to  be  applicable,  with  slight  differences,  to  all  other  portions  of  the 
Big  Woods.  Everywhere  through  this  forest  the  two  largest  and  most  plen- 
tiful species  are  elm  and  bass.  Another  list  of  trees  and  shrubs,  noted  in 
passing  through  these  woods  in  Scott  county,  is  recorded  by  Prof.  Winchell 
in  his  second  annual  report,  pp.  210  and  211 ;  followed  by  a  few  additional 
species,  as  the  Kentucky  coffee-tree,  black  walnut,  and  yellow  birch,  seen 
in  ascending  the  valley  of  the  Minnesota  river  to  Big  Stone  lake. 

Timber  is  found  along  the  Minnesota  river  in  a  nearly  continuous,  though 
often  very  narrow  strip,  bordering  the  river  through  almost  its  entire  course  ; 
but  generally  leaving  much  of  the  bottom-land  treeless.  The  bluffs  on  the 
north-east  side  of  the  river  have  for  the  most  part  only  thin  and  scanty 
groves  or  scattered  trees.  The  south-western  bluffs,  on  the  contrary,  are 
heavily  wooded  through  Blue  Earth  and  Brown  counties,  excepting  two  or 
three  miles  at  New  Ulm.  They  also  are  frequently  well  timbered  in  Red- 
wood and  Yellow  Medicine  counties ;  but  in  Lac  qui  Parle  county  they  are 
mostly  treeless,  and  have  only  occasional  groves.  The  greater  abundance 
of  timber  on  the  south-western  bluffs  appears  to  be  due  to  their  being -less 
exposed  to  the  sun,  and  therefore  more  moist,  than  the  bluffs  at  the  opposite 
side  of  the  valley.  Above  Montevideo  the  timber  is  mainly  restricted  to  a 
narrow  belt  beside  the  river,  and  to  tributary  valleys  and  ravines. 

About  Big  Stone  lake,  timber  generally  fringes  the  shore  ;  occurs  of  larger 
growth  in  the  ravines  of  its  bluffs ;  and  covers  its  islands,  situated  within  six 
miles- above  its  mouth.  The  speceies  of  trees  observed  by  Prof.  Winchell 


29 

near  the  foot  of  this  lake  on  its  north-east  side,  are  the  following  in  their 
order  of  abundance  :  white  ash,  bur-oak,  bass,  white  elm,  box-elder,  cotton- 
wood,  hackberry,  ironwood,  soft  maple,  wild  plum,  slippery  elm,  and  wil- 
low. The  shrubs  recorded  in  the  same  locality  are  grape,  prickly  and 
smooth  gooseberries,  wolfberry,  black  currant,  prickly  ash,  red  and  black 
raspberries,  elder,  sweet  viburnum,  red-osier  dogwood,  climbing  bittersweet, 
choke  cherry,  red  and  white  rose,  Virginia  creeper,  waahoo,  and  smooth 

sumac. 

Red  river  has  no  timber,  or  very  little,  for  twenty  miles  east  from  Breck- 
enridge.  In  the  ten  miles  next  below  Breckenridge,  it  is  bordered  by  scat- 
tered groves  of  bur-oak,  ash,  box-elder,  elm,  and  bass,  occupying  perhaps 
one-fourth  of  this  distance,  while  small  poplars  and  willows  occasionally 
appear  in  the  spaces  between  the  groves.  Farther  to  the  north,  this  river 
is  continuously  fringed  with  timber,  and  its  larger  tributaries  have  their 
course  marked  in  the  same  way.  The  growth  of  Wood  is  here  confined  to 
the  banks  of  the  streams,  which  have  cut  hollows  20  to  40  feet  deep  in  the 
broad  lacustrine  plain.  The  trees  and  shrubs  which  thus  occur  along  the 
Red  and  Buffalo  rivers  in  northwestern  Clay  county,  are  stated  by  Mr.  Adam 
Stein,  of  Georgetown,  to  be  the  following :  white  ash,  white  and  slippery 
elm,  bur-oak,  ironwood,  poplar,  box-elder,  wild  plum,  hackberry,  prickly 
ash,  frost  grape,  choke  cherry,  red  raspberry,  rose,  thorn,  prickly  and 
smooth  goosberries,  black  currant,  and  hazelnut,  more  or  less  common; 
wild  red  cherry,  Juneberry,  high  bush  cranberry,  and  cottonwood,  rare. 

Prairies.  The  greater  part  of  the  region  here  reported  is  prairie.  This 
term  is  commonly  used  to  embrace  all  tracts  destitute  of  trees  and  shrubs 
but  well  covered  with  grass.  Groves  of  a  few  acres,  or  sometimes  a  hundred 
,-acres  or  more,  occur  here  and  there  upon  this  area  beside  lakes,  and  a  nar- 
row line  of  timber  often  borders  streams,  as  just  described  along  the  Minne- 
sota and  Red  rivers ;  but  many  lakes  and  streams  have  neither  bush  nor  tree 
in  sight,  and  frequently  none  is  visible  in  a  view  which  ranges  from  five  to 
ten  miles  in  all  directions.  Most  of  these  prairies  have  the  moderately 
undulating  contour  described  at  the  beginning  of  our  remarks  on  topography. 
Within  the  area  of  Lake  Agassiz  the  surface  is  almost  absolutely  level. 
Other  portions  cf  these  prairies  are  quite  hilly,  having  undulations  of  100 
feet  or  more,  as  from  Hawley  southward  along  the  east  side  of  the  lacustrine 
area  to  Red  river ;  thence  south-east  to  Pelican  lake  and  Lake  Oscar ;  the 
morainic  hills  of  Pope  county ;  and  parts  of  Acton,  Danielson,  and  Green- 
leaf,  in  Meeker  county.  If  we  compare  the  forests  with  the  prairies  as  to 
their  prevailing  contour,  we  find  that  for  the  most  part  the  former  are 
hilly  and  the  latter  gently  undulating ;  yet  much  of  the  timbered  areas, 
especially  of  the  Big  Woods,  is  only  slightly  uneven  and  occasionally  quite 
level,  while  some  very  hilly  tracts  are  prairies.  The  material  of  nearly  all 
these  areas  is  closely  alike,  being  till  or  unmodified  glacial  drift,  showing 
no  important  differences  such  as  might  cause  the  growth  of  forest  in  one 
region  and  of  only  grass  and  herbage  in  another. 

The  absence  of  trees  and  shrubs  upon  large  areas,  called  prairies,  in  this 
and  neighboring  states,  is  generally  attributed  correctly  to  the  effect  of  fires. 
Through  many  centuries  fires  have  almost  annually  swept  over  these  areas, 
generally  destroying  all  seedling  trees  and  shrubs,  and  sometimes  extending 
the  border  of  the  prairie  by  adding  tracts  from  which  the  forest  had  been 


30 

burned.  Late  in  autumn  and  again  in  the  spring  the  dead  grass  of  the 
prairie  burns  very  rapidly,  so  that  a  fire  within  a  few  days  sometimes  spreads 
fifty  or  a  hundred  miles.  The  groves  that  remain  in  the  prairie  region  are 
usually  in  a  more  or  less  sheltered  position,  being  on  the  border  of  lakes  and 
streams  and  sometimes  nearly  surrounded  by  them ;  while  areas  that  cannot 
be  reached  by  fires,  as  islands,  are  almost  always  wooded.  If  fires  should 
fail  to  overrun  the  prairies  in  the  future,  it  can  hardly  be  doubted  that 
nearly  all  of  them  would  gradually  and  slowly  be  changed  to  forest.  Yet  it 
does  not  appear  that  fires  in  forests  at  the  West  are  more  frequent  or  de- 
structive than  at  the  East,  and  our  inquiry  must  go  back  a  step  further  to 
ask  why  fires  east  of  the  Appalachian  Mountains  had  nowhere  exterminated 
the  forest,  while  so  extensive  areas  of  prairie  were  produced  by  them  in  the 
West.  Among  the  conditions  which  have  led  to  this  difference,  we  must 
probably  place  first  the  generally  greater  amount,  and  somewhat  more  equal 
distribution  throughout  the  year,  of  fain  in  the  eastern  states. 

The  average  growth  on  the  dry  portions  of  the  prairies  of  this  region 
would  make  about  a  half  a  ton  of  hay  per  acre.  It  affords  magnificent 
pasturage,  but  the  pioneer  farmer  gathers  nearly  all  his  hay  from  the  fre- 
quent depressions  or  "sloughs,"  which  yield  twice  as  much  as  the  higher 
land,  but  of  somewhat  inferior  quality.  These  are  marshes  through  the 
spring  and  early  summer,  but  become  mostly  dry  later  in  the  season,  so  that 
horses  can  be  driven  across  them. 

The  most  abundant  grasses  found  upon,  the  prairies  in  the  vicinity  of  New 
Ulm  by  Mr.  B.  Juni  of  that  place,  are  as  follows :  Andropogon  furcatits, 
Muhl.,  Sorghum  nutans,  Gray,  Bouteloua  curtipendula,  Gray,  and  Stipa  spartea, 
Trin.,  common  on  portions  neither  very  dry  nor  very  moist;  Andropogon 
scoparius,  Michx.,  and  Bouteloua  hirsuta,  Lagasca,  common  on  dry  swells; 
Spartina  cynosuroides,  Willd.,  in  sloughs,  making  the  principal  mass  of  their 
hay ;  Leersia  oryzoides,  Swartz,  with  the  last ;  and  the  stout  Phragmites  com- 
munis,  Trin. ,  common  on  the  marshy  shores  of  lakelets.  The  prairies  also 
bear  a  great  variety  of  flowers.  Of  asters  Mr.  Juni  finds  the  most  common 
species  to  be  Aster  surculosus.,  Michx.,  A.  sericeus,  Vent.,  and  A.  Trades- 
canti,  L.;  of  golden-rod  (Solidago),  S.  Oliioensis,  Riddell,  S.  Canadensis,  L., 
and  S.  lanceolata,  L.  Among  the  most  noticeable  and  common  plants  of  the 
prairies,-  besides  the  foregoing,  are  Liatris  spicata,  Willd.,  Psoralea  argo- 
phylla,  Pursh,  Petalostemon  violaceus,  Michx.,  P.  candidus,  Michx.,  Amorpha 
canescens,  Nutt., [Rosa  lucida,  Ehrhart,  Campanula rotundifolia,  L.,  Phlox  pilosa, 
L.,  Gentiana  crinita,  Frcel.,  6?.  detonsa,  Fries.,  and  Lilium  PMladelphicum,^. 

STRATTGRAPHIC   GEOLOGY. 

My  only  observations  of  rocks  older  than  the  drift  are  confined  to  the  deep 
valley  of  the  Minnesota  river,  the  topography  of  which  has  been  already 
described.  The  only  other  exposure  of  the  old  rocks  known  within  this 
area  of  16,000  square  miles  is  recorded  by  Owen,  and  was  seen  in  his  boat 
journey  down  the  Red  river,  at  a  point  a  little  above  Fergus  Falls.  The 
geology  of  the  Minnesota  valley  was  explored  by  William  H.  Keating  in 
1823 ;  by  G.  W.  Featherstonhaugh  in  1835 ;  and  by  B.  F.  Shumard  in  1848. 
Soon  after  the  establishment  of  the  present  survey,  Prof.  Winchell  in  1873 
examined  this  valley  throughout,  and  his  description  of  it,  embracing  also 
notes  as  to  the  observations  of  these  earlier  explorers,  occupies  pages  127  to 


31 

212  of  the  second  annual  report.  This  treats  very  fully  and  completely  of 
all  the  rock-formations  of  this  valley  ;  and  its  conclusions  have  been  uni- 
formly confirmed,  while  indeed  very  little  important  information  has  been 
added  by  my  journey  over  the  same  ground. 

The  following  description  of  the  old  rocks  is  therefore  based  in  large  part 
upon  Prof.  Winchell's  report.  They  are  taken  up  in  their  order  of  age, 
beginning  with  the  oldest,  and  including  metamorphic  granites  and  gneisses 
of  the  great  series  denominated  Eozoic  or  Archaean ;  a  conglomerate  and 
quartzite,  considered  of  the  same  age  with  the  Potsdam  sandstone ;  the  St. 
Lawrence  limestone,  Jordan  sandstone,  and  Shakopee  limestone,  belonging 
to  the  Lower  Magnesian  or  Calcif  erous  epoch,  all  these  above  the  metamorphic 
rocks  being  of  the  great  Lower  Silurian  series ;  and  various  shales,  sand- 
stones, limestones,  and  clays,  the  latter  sometimes  holding  beds  of  lignite, 
regarded  together  as  of  Cretaceous  age.  The  St.  Peter  sandstone  and  Tren- 
ton limestone,  of  the  Lower  Silurian  series  and  lying  next  above  the  Shako- 
pee  limestone,  occur  in  this  valley  near  its  mouth,  but  not  within  the  limits 
of  the  counties  here  reported.  The  glacial  and  modified  drift  come  last  in 
this  order,  being  our  latest  completed  geological  formation. 

Granites  and  Gneisses.  These  are  metamorphic  rocks  of  the  series  called 
Eozoic  or  Archaean,  the  most  ancient  known  to  geology.  They  are  doubt- 
less an  extension  from  the  large  area  of  these  rocks  in  north-eastern  Minne- 
sota. They  are,  however,  generally  covered  by  drift  except  in  the  counties 
which  border  Lake  Superior,  and  have  only  few  exposures  in  the  central 
part  of  the  State.  The  nearest  of  these  are  in  the  vicinity  of  St.  Cloud,  75 
miles  from  the  Minnesota  river.  It  has  been  already  stated  that  the  various 
rock-formations  seen  along  this  river  have  been  uncovered  by  the  excavation 
of  a  deep  channel  through  the  drift. 

The  granites  and  associated  rocks  of  this  valley  occur  frequently  through 
a  distance  of  100  miles,  from  a  point  one  mile  below  the  mouth  of  Big  Stone 
lake  to  about  five  miles  south-east  from  Fort  Ridgely.  In  the  next  13  miles, 
no  rocks  older  than  the  Cretaceous  are  found.  Then  comes  the  last  outcrop 
of  granite,  opposite  the  south-east  part  of  New  Ulm,  succeeded  by  conglom- 
erate and  quartzyte. 

No  rocks  older  than  drift,  excepting  some  Cretaceous  deposits,  occur  in 
this  valley  along  Traverse  and  Big  Stone  lakes,  or  in  the  distance  betweeta. 
them.  One  mile  below  Big  Stone  lake,  a  coarse  red  granite  begins  and 
thence  occupies  nearly  the  whole  valley  for  three  miles,  its  highest  portions 
rising  50  to  75  feet  above  the  river.  It  again  appears  in  low  outcrops  two 
and  three  miles  from  the  last,  in  sees.  30  and  32,  t.  121,  r.  45,  the  first  of 
these  being  on  the  north  side  of  the  Minnesota  a  little  west  of  Stony  Run, 
and  the  second  on  the  south  side  at  Mr.  Frederick  Frankhaus',  a  half  mile 
west  from  the  ford.  Two  to  six  miles  south-east  from  the  ford,  in  t.  120, 
r.  45,  which  extends  from  the  mouth  of  Yellow  Banks  river  to  Marsh  lake, 
similar  granite,  principally  red  or  flesh-colored  but  in  some  portions  light 
gray,  forms  abundant  outcrops,  mainly  on  the  south  side  of  tke  river,  rising 
50  to  75  feet  in  their  highest  portions.  North  of  these,  two  ledges  of  this 
rock  were  noted  about  a  mile  apart,  halfway  between  Odessa  and  Correll 
stations,  the  west  one  lying  a  little  south  of  the  railroad,  while  the  east  one 
is  crossed  by  it.  All  the  foregoing  exposures  are  massive  granite,  containing 
a  large  proportion  of  feldspar  to  which  its  prevailing  reddish  color  is  due. 


32 

It  is  variously  jointed,  but  does  not  exhibit  the  lamination  which  is  generally 
noticeable  in  the  south-eastward  continuation  of  these  rocks. 

Gneiss  has  the  same  composition  with  granite,  being  made  up  of  quartz, 
feldspar,  and  mica.  It  differs  from  granite  in  having^these  minerals  lami- 
nated, or  arranged  more  or  less  distinctly  in  layers.  Nearly  all  the  meta- 
morphic  rocks  that  remain  to  be  described  are  varieties  of  gneiss,  with  which 
masses  of  granite,  syenite,  and  hornblende  schist  occur  rarely.  For  15 
miles  from  the  upper  part  of  Marsh  lake  to  the  middle  of  Lacfqui  Parle,  we 
have  no  report  of  ledges.  In  sec.  32,  t.  119,  r.  42,  an  island  of  rock  occurs 
in  Lac  qui  Parle,  and  two  ledges  were  seen  across  the  lake  on  its  west  side. 
About  two- miles  south-east,  or  one  and  a  half  miles  above  the  foot  of  the 
lake,  are  several  small  and  low  exposures  of  rock,  occuring  at  each  side  and 
also  as  islands.  On  the  north-east  side  this  is  gneiss,  mostly  with  N.  E.  to 
S.  W.  strike.  Its  dip  was  clearly  shown  at  only  one  place,  being  there  75° 
S.  E. 

In  the  deserted  channel  between  Lac  qui  Parle  and  the  Chippewa  river 
rock  is  exposed  near  the  south-east  corner  of  sec.  6,  Tunsburg.  It  also 
occurs  at  the  south  east  corner  of  this  township,  in  the  bottom-land  on  the 
east  side  of  the  Chippewa  river,  three  miles  above  its  mouth.  Another  low 
exposure  is  one  mile  west  of  Montevideo  on  the  north  side  of  the  Minnesota, 
halfway  between  the  river  and  the  bluff.  Close  south  of  Montevideo,  a  knob 
of  gray  gneiss,  nearly  vertical,  with  W.  S.  W  strike,  rises  30  feet  above  the 
bottom-land.  One  to  two  miles  south-east  from  Montevideo  are  extensive 
outcrops  of  gneiss,  rising  40  to  60  feet  and  extending  one  and  a  half  miles 
from  the  river  to  the  bluff  at  its  north-east  side.  At  a  little  lake  near  the 
river  its  dip  is  45°  S.  10° — 20°  E.  Adjoining  this,  the  gneiss  includes  a  mass 
of  hornblende  schist,  20  rods  long  from  north-west  to  south-east  and  from 
20  feet  to  6  rods  wide.  Its  dip  is  33°  S.  E.  by  S.  At  the  railroad  cut  the 
rock  is  reddish  gray  gneiss,  dipping  45°  to  60°  S.  E.  Two  to  four  miles 
south-east  from  these  outcrops  are  others  of  small  extent,  also  on  the  north 
side  of  Minnesota  river. 

At  Granite  Falls  and  Minnesota  Falls  ledges  of  gneiss  occur  on  both  sides 
of  the  river,  filling  the  valley  with  a  multitude  of  knobs  and  short  ridges 
30  to  75  feet  high.  These  rocks  begin  five  miles  above  Granite  Falls,  near 
the  mouth  of  Stony  Run.  Along  this  distance  they  occur  principally  on  the 
south-west  side.  In  the  N.  E.  %  of  sec.  24,  Stony  Run,  the  strike  for  an 
eighth  of  a  mile  is  S.  80°  E.,  the  dip  being  75°  N.  10°  E  Generally,  how- 
ever, the  strike  is  nearly  N.  E.  to  S.  W.,  the  dip  being  south-easterly. 
In  the  north-west  edge  of  Granite  Falls,  the  dip  is  60°  S.  E.,  but  more 
commonly  it  ranges  between  25°  and  40°.  In  a  few  places  at  Granite  Falls 
it  is  toward  the  north-east  or  north.  At  Minnesota  Falls  it  wras  noted  in  one 
place  to  be  58°  S.  10°  E.,  and  near  by  85°  in  the  same  direction.  These  are 
exceptions,  while  the  prevailing  inclination  is  toward  the  south-east.  The 
strata  are  reddish  or  gray  gneiss,  frequently  so  disintegrated  by  the  weather 
that  its  outcrops  have  become  turfed,  varying  occasionally  to  more  enduring 
gray  and  red  granites.  These  rocks  also  sometimes  include  trap  dikes,  of 
massive,  very  heavy,  dark  green  rock,  as  at  the  rapids,  recently  used  for 
manufacturing,  one  mile  above  Granite  Falls,  where  two  dikes,  respectively 
20  and  48  feet  wide,  occur  54  feet  apart,  their  course  being  N.  E.  to  S.  W., 
conformable  with  the  strike  of  the  rocks.  Elsewhere  the  gneiss  may  include 


33 

a  bed  or  lenticular  mass  of  hornblende  schist,  as  is  seen  at  the  east  end  of 
Granite  Falls  bridge  and  dam.  Gray  syenite,  probably  valuable  for  building 
and  ornamental  purposes,  occurs  about  a  half  mile  south  from  Minnesota 
Falls.  A  large  specimen  of  it,  elegantly  polished,  was  shown  me  by  Mr. 
Park  Worden  of  this  place.  It  is  composed  of  white  quartz  and  black  horn- 
blende, in  nearly  equal  parts,  somewhat  schistose  as  to  the  direction  of  its 
grains.  The  trap  dikes,  hornblende  schist,  syenite  and  granites,  are  together 
but  a  small  portion  of  these  rocks  which  mainly  are.  gneiss.  Its  outcrops 
from  Granite  Falls  to  one  mile  below  Minnesota  Falls  are  very  prominent, 
rising  in  irregular  and  picturesque  confusion  throughout  the  entire  valley, 
nearty  two  miles  wide.  Lower  ledges  continue  less  frequently  for  a  mile  or 
two  beyond  these. 

The  next  outcrops  noted  are  six  miles  down  the  river,  along  its  portion 
•called  Patterson's  Rapids,  which  extend,  with  frequent  intervals  of  smooth 
current,  seven  miles  or  more,  through  t.  114,  r.  37.  The  river  here  divides 
Sacred  Heart  on  the  north  from  Swede's  Forest  on  the  south.  In  the  north- 
west corner  of  Swede's  Forest,  ledges  abound  for  two  miles,  reaching  40  to 
75  feet  above  the  river.  A  lone  school-house  is  situated  among  them,  near 
the  north-east  corner  of  sec.  18.  Half  a  mile  west  from  this,  the  rock  is 
reddish  gray  gneiss,  dipping  15°  N.  N.  W.  A  third  of  a  mile  west  from  it, 
are  massive  granite  cliffs,  divided  by  joints  into  nearly  square  blocks,  10  to 
15  feet  in  dimension.  This  rock  may  be  found  valuable  for  quarrying. 
One-eighth  of  a  mile  east  from  the  last,  it  is  gneiss,  dipping  15°  S.  At  the 
•east  side  of  the  school-house,  it  is  also  gneiss,  dipping  about  5°  S. 

Along  the  entire  river-boundary  between  Redwood  and  Renville  counties, 
a  distance  of  30  miles,  ledges  of  gneiss  and  granite  abound,  in  some  places 
enclosing  masses  of  hornblende  schist.  For  12  miles  above  Beaver  Falls  they 
fill  the  whole  valley,  occurring  on  each  side  of  the  river,  and  rising  50  to  125 
feet  above  it.  Between  Beaver  and  Birch  Cooley  creeks  the  outcrops  are 
mainly  on  the  north  side  of  the  Minnesota,  rising  in  their  highest  portions 
100  feet  above  the  river.  Below  the  mouth  of  Birch  Cooley  they  are  mostly 
on  the  south  side,  occurring  in  great  abundance  for  two  miles  above  and 
three  miles  below  the  mouth  of  Wabashaw  creek.  The  highest  of  these  are 
a  mile  above  this  creek,  rising  75  to  125,  or  perhaps  140  feet,  above  the  river. 
It  will  be  remembered  that  the  bluffs  along  all  this  part  of  the  valley  are 
about  175  feet  high,  so  that  none  .of  these  ledges  was  visible  before  the  sur- 
face of  the  drift-sheet  had  been  considerably  channelled.  At  Birum's  mill, 
on  the  Redwood  river  where  it  enters  the  Minnesota  valley,  \%  miles  north- 
east from  Redwood  Falls,  the  rock  is  a  greenish  talcose  quartzyte,  dipping 
25°  S.  E.  One  mile  north-east  from  this,  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  Minne- 
sota and  one  fourth  of  a  mile  north  of  the  ford,  the  rock  is  gray  gneiss, 
weathering  to  reddish  gray,  apparently  almost  vertical,  with  its  strike  E.  N. 
E.  At  the  east  side  of  the  road  this  gneiss  is  crossed  by  a  nearly  vertical 
vein,  1  to  3  feet  wide,  of  coarsely  crystalline  feldspar  and  quartz,  extending 
within  sight  50  feet.  These  strata  are  also  exposed  in  the  valley  of  Beaver 
creek  one  and  two  miles  above  its  junction  with  the  Minnesota  valley.  The 
Champion  mill-dam  at  the  village  of  Beaver  Falls  is  nearly  within  the  line 
of  strike  of  the  gneiss  described  north  of  the  ford,  and  a  similar  gneiss,  with 
nearly  the  same  strike,  is  found  here.  Its  dip  is  15°  S.  S.  E.  At  the  dam  of 
the  O  K  mill,  one  mile  north-east  from  the  last,  is  an  extensive  exposure  of 

3 


34 

gray  gneiss,  also  with  E.  N.  E.  strike;  it  is  nearly  vertical,  or  has  a  steep 
dip  to  the  S.  S.  E.,  and  in  some  portions  if  much  contorted.  Veins,  6  to  18 
inches  wide,  of  coarsely  crystalline  flesh-colored  feldspar,  coinciding  with 
the  strike,  are  common  here.  The  valley  of  Birch  Cooley,  one  mile  above 
its  entrance  into  that  of  the  Minnesota,  has  a  large  exposure  of  granite, 
holding  interesting  veins,  faulted  and  divided  portions  of  which  are  figured 
in  Prof.  Winchell's  report.  One  of  these  veins,  composed  of  granite  and 
four  inches  wide,  is  traceable  250  feet,  running  south- west. 

Two  miles  below  the  mouth  of  Birch  Cooley,  a  low  outcrop  examined  on 
the  north  side  of  the  river  is  granite,  containing  a  large  proportion  of  flesh- 
colored  feldspar.  Ledges  were  next  seen  on  the  north  side  three  miles  below 
the  last,  in  the  vicinity  of  the  line  between  Birch  Cooley  and  Camp,  extend- 
ing a  half  mile  westward  from  Reikie  and  Fenske's  flour  mill.  A  small 
outcrop  occurs  five  miles  south-east  from  these,  beside  a  small  round  lakelet 
in  the  bottom-land  north  of  the  rfver.  One  mile  farther  south-east,  in  the 
west  extremity  of  Ridgely  township,  and  \%  miles  west  of  Fort  Ridgely,  are 
the  ledges  which  supplied  the  stone  used  in  building  the  fort.  An  excavation 
found  near  the  north  end  of  the  outcrop,  is  in  porphyritic  granite,  which 
contains  abundant  gray  feldspar  crystals,  %  to  1^  inches  long  and  one 
third  to  two  thirds  as  wide ;  it  also  contains  occasional  masses  six  to  twelve 
inches  long  and  half  as  wide,  mostly  made  up  of  black  mica  in  small  grains. 
This  ledge  is  also  traversed  by  several  flesh-colored  feldspathic  veins,  2  to  6 
inches  wide.  The  other  rock-masses  near  by  are  mostly  feldspathic  granite, 
flesh-colored,  not  noticeably  porphyritic.  In  one  band  here,  the  rock  is 
hornblende  schist  and  mica  schist,  much  contorted,  weathering  to  a  very 
rough  hone3'-combed  surface.  This  band  extends  several  rods  from  north  to 
south,  and  dips  45°  to  60°  W. 

Four  miles  below  Fort  Ridgely,  at  Little  Rock  creek,  which  is  a  mere  rill, 
ledges  again  appear.  They  extend  one  mile  from  north-west  to  south-east, 
lying  on  the  north  side  of  the  river,  and  rising  40  to  60  feet  above  it.  This 
rock  is  partly  gneiss,  much  contorted  and  often  obscure  in  its  lamination, 
and  partly  granite,  both  being  flesh-colored,  apparently  from  weathering. 
It  is  abundantly  jointed  and  seamed.  The  dip  is  not  clearly  exhibited. 
Prof.  Winchell  thought,  from  the  outlines  and  slopes  of  surface,  that  it  might 
be  35°  or  40°  to  the  north. 

Thirteen  miles  of  the  valley  next  to  the  south-east  have  no  rock  expo- 
sures. Two  small  outcrops  of  granite  follow  this,  lying  in  the  bottom-land 
of  the  S.  W.  >4  of  sec.  27,  Courtland.  It  is  a  coarse  granite,  the  greater 
part  of  it  consisting  of  flesh-colored  feldspar.  Weathering  has  made  it  very 
friable  on  the  surface,  but  the  interior  is  solid.  This  is  the  last  occurrence 
of  the  rocks  of  this  series  seen  in  the  Minnesota  valley.  It  is  about  300  feet 
west  from  the  south  end  of  a  conglomerate  outcrop,  and  one  mile  northwest 
from  the  quartzyte  at  Redstone. 

Examination  of  these  notes  as  to  strike  and  dip  shows  that  the  axial  lines 
of  folds  in  these  rocks  run  mainly  from  north-east  to  south-west.  Very 
thorough  detailed  exploration  would  be  requisite,  but  very  probably,  being 
confined  to  this  narrow  valley,  would  be  insufficient  to  determine  the  posi- 
tion of  synclinal,  anticlinal  and  inverted  axes,  or  to  arrive  at  any  strati- 
graphic  divisions  of  the  series.  No  quarrying  of  any  importance  has  been 
yet  undertaken  in  any  portion  of  these  rocks  in  the  Minnesota  valley ;  but 


35 

they  are  extensively  quarried  at  St.  Cloud,  both  for  building  and  monu- 
mental stone. 

Wells  in  Metamorphic  Rocks.  A  well  drilled  for  the  railroad,  at  Herman, 
Grant  county,  passed  through  124  feet  of  till,  and  then  went  65  feet  in  rock. 
The  first  seven  or  eight  feet  of  the  rock  was  the  fine  grained,  buff,  magne- 
sian  limestone,  boulders  of  which  are  common  throughout  northwestern 
Minnesota.  Prof.  Winchell  thinks  it  probable  that  this  portion  was  a  com- 
pacted mass  of  boulders.  This  seems  to  be  the  rock  which  Owen  observed 
in  the  bank  of  the  Red  river  above  Fergus  Falls.  His  statement  shows  that 
possibly  it  was  there  only  a  large  slab,  embedded  in  nearly  horizontal  posi- 
tion in  the  bank,  instead  of  being  in  place  as  a  solid  bed.  This  rock  out- 
crops in  the  vicinity  of  Winnipeg,  in  Manitoba.  The  remaining  57  feet 
drilled  in  the  rock  was  through  quartzose  granite,  with  red  feldspar ;  white 
micaceous  quartzyte ;  and  mica  schist  of  several  varieties. 

The  section  of  the  salt- well  at  Belle  Plaine  was  as  follows,  in  descending 
order  :  216  feet  of  stratified  gravels,  sands,  and  clays,  all  apparently  belong- 
ing to  the  glacial  period ;  16  feet  of  sandstone;  10  feet  of  ochreous  shale ; 
176  feet  of  highly  magnesian  clays,  purple  and  speckled  writh  white,  mostly 
without  siliceous  grains ;  and  292  feet  of  siliceous,  unctuous  shale,  highly 
ferruginous,  sometimes  amygdaloidal,  and  varying  to  a  micaceous  quartzyte. 
From  216  to  418  feet,  the  strata  are  thought  to  represent  the  quartzyte  and 
pipestone  of  Potsdam  age,  which  outcrop  near  New  Ulm  and  in  Pipestone 
county;  from  418  feet  to  the  bottom  of  the  well  at  710,  they  are  considered 
lower  than  the  Potsdam  sandstone ;  but  the  granites  and  gneisses  lie  yet 
deeper.  No  other  wTells  in  the  district  here  reported  penetrate  to  the  meta- 
morphic  rocks. 

Decomposed  Gneiss  and  Granite.  Very  remarkable  chemical  changes  have 
taken  place  in  the  upper  portions  of  many  of  the  exposures  of  gneiss  and 
granite  near  Redwood  Falls.  The  rock  is  transformed  to  a  soft,  earthy  or 
clayey  mass,  resembling  kaolin.  It  has  a  blue  or  greenish  color,  when 
freshly  exposed ;  but  when  weathered,  assumes  a  yellowish  ash  color,  and 
finally  becomes  white  and  glistening.  Mica  scales  and  laminae  of  quartz  are 
generally  contained  in  this  material,  and  have  the  same  arrangement  as  in 
gneiss,  so  that  the  dip  can  be  distinctly  seen.  Veins  of  quartz  or  feldspar, 
the  latter  completely  decomposed,  and  the  lines  of  joints,  are  also  noticeable, 
just  ag  in  granite  or  gneiss ;  making  it  evident  that  this  substance  is  the 
result  of  a  decay  of  the  rocks  in  their  original  place.  So  far  as  can  be  judged 
from  stream  channels  and  other  exposures,  this  decomposition  reaches  in 
some  places  to  a  depth  of  20  or  30  feet,  perhaps  more.  All  grades  of  change 
may  be  found,  from  ledges  where  only  here  and  there  a  few  spots  have  been 
attacked  and  slightly  decomposed,  to  portions  where  nearly  every  indication 
of  its  origin  has  been  obliterated. 

Before  the  extensive  denudation  of  the  glacial  period,  it  is  probable  that  all 
the  granite  and  gneiss  of  this  region  were  covered  by  a  similarly  decayed 
surface.  Upon  the  areas  where  decomposed  rocks  still  exist,  the  glacial 
ploughing  was  shallower  than  elsewhere.  These  beds  are  frequently  over- 
lain by  Cretaceous  deposits,  and  appear  to  have  been  submerged  beneath 
a  Cretaceous  ocean.  Prof.  Winchell  suggests  that  their  decay  may  have 
taken  place  during  this  submergence,  under  the  influence  of  the  abundance 
of  alkaline  chemical  agents  held  in  solution  by  the  sea  in  that  age.  Expo- 


36 

sures  of  these  kaolinized  strata  are  four^l  in  a  ravine  north  of  the  river 
opposite  Minnesota  Falls ;  in  the  gorge  of  Redwood  river  below  Redwood 
Falls,  interesting  for  its  grand  and  beautiful  scenery ;  in  many  of  the  ledges 
of  Minnesota  valley  for  several  miles  next  below,  especially  in  exposures 
made  by  roads  at  the  foot  of  the  bluffs ;  in  the  valley  of  Birch  Cooley  near 
its  mouth ;  and  occasionally  for  8  or  10  miles  farther  down  the  valley. 

The  Conglomerate  opposite  New  Ulm.  This  outcrop  is  about  1000  feet  long, 
in  which  distance  its  height  rises  from  10  to  about  60  feet  above  the  river. 
Its  strike  or  course  is  N.  20°  E.,  while  the  dip,  measured  by  Prof.  Winchell, 
is  18°  E.  S.  E.  Its  greatest  exposure  vertically  at  any  one  place  is  about  20 
feet.  The  beds  vary  from  1  to  6  feet  in  thickness.  It  is  a  massive,  tough 
conglomerate.  The  pebbles  in  it  are  all  more  or  less  water- worn  ;  they  are 
generally  abundant,  often  occurring  nearly  as  thick  as  they  could  be  packed. 
They  are  of  all  sizes  up  to  a  diameter  of  one  foot  or  a  little  more.  These 
pebbles  are  remarkable  as  consisting,  almost  without  exception,  of  only  two 
kinds  of  rock,  which  occur  together  in  nearly  equal  abundance  and  dimen- 
sions. One  of  the  two  classes  is  apparently  a  jasper,  usually  dull  red  and 
massive,  but  in  many  of  the  fragments  laminated,  or  in  thin  bands,  which 
are  sometimes  dark,  sometimes  yellow  ;  the  other  class  is  white  quartz,  mas- 
sive, now  and  then  containing  foreign  particles,  and  occasionall}*  smoky  in 
color.  The  origin  of  this  conglomerate  may  have  been  from  the  action  of 
sea- waves  upon  a  coast  where  only  these  two  kinds  of  rock  were  exposed. 
The  only  pebble  found,  which  could  not  be  referred  to  these  classes,  was  a 
scrap  of  fine-grained  gneiss,  two  inches  long.  Neither  the  granite  that  out- 
crops close  at  the  west,  nor  the  quartzyte  that  occurs  upon  a  large  area  at  a 
mile  to  the  east,  seems  to  be  represented.  The  conglomerate  is  probably 
older  than  the  quartzyte,  but  both  are  thought  to  come  within  the  Potsdam 
epoch. 

The  Quartzyte  at  Redstone.  This  lies  on  the  north-east  side  of  the  river, 
beginning  at  the  Redstone  railroad-bridge,  and  extending  one  mile  to  the 
east  and  south-east.  The  highest  knobs  of  its  southern  part  rise  100  to  125 
feet  above  the  river,  while  its  most  northern  part  forms  a  nearly  level  tract 
of  about  equal  height,  %  of  a  mile  long,  lying  at  the  south  side  of  the  car- 
riage road.  The  greater  part  of  this  outcrop  dips  northerly.  South  of  the 
west  railroad-cut  the  dip  is  27°  K.  10°  E.  At  another  cut,  a  third  of  a  mile 
east  from  this,  it  is  45°  N.  N.  E.  It  frequently  varies  as  much  as  10°  within 
a  few  rods,  and  its  north  portion  seems  to  be  nearly  level  in  stratification. 
The  thickness  exposed  in  the  whole  outcrop  may  be  250  feet.  The  rock  is  a 
compact  hard  quartzyte,  of  red  or  reddish  gray  color.  It  is  variously  divided 
by  joints,  and  its  solid  masses  often  have  a  tendency  to  break  into  rhom- 
boidal  fragments.  The  layers^are  3  to  12  inches  thick,  mostly  without  lam- 
ination at  the  north ;  but  at  the  south-west  they  show  fine  laminae,  part  of 
which  are  shale  softer  than  the  rest  of  the  rock.  At  the  north-west  it  rarely 
encloses  small  pebbles,  the  largest  seen  being  three-quarters  of  an  inch  in 
diameter.  They  include  only  red  jasper  and  white  quartz,  like  those  of 
the  conglomerate  just  described.  Stone  suitable  for  cellar- walls  and  founda- 
tions is  quarried  from  this  formation. 

St.  Lawrence  Limestone.  Eleven  miles  south-east  from  the  quartzyte,  we 
find  at  Hebron  and  Judson  the  first  exposure  of  the  Lower  Magnesian  rocks 
within  tlue  Minnesota  valley.  Thence  to  the  limit  of  our  survey  at  Hamilton 


37 

these  rocks  occur  frequently.  They  consist  of  three  members,  named  in 
ascending  order  the  St.  Lawrence  limestone,  Jordan  sandstone  and  Shakopee 
limestone,  from  the  lowest  places  in  this  valley  at  which  they  are  well 
exposed. 

The  St.  Lawrence  limestone  at  Hebron  extends  from  Nicollet  creek,  the 
outlet  of  Swan  lake,  about  1%  miles  eastward  It  rises  25  to  35  feet  above 
the  river,  against  which  it  forms  a  barrier,  protecting  a  broad  terrace  of 
modified  drift  that  lies  between  the  limestone  exposures  and  the  foot  of  the 
bluffs.  Its  stratification  is  nearly  level,  the  dip  being  about  2°  to  the  south- 
east. The  beds  are  1  to  4  inches  thick  at  top,  where  it  has  been  affected  by 
weathering  ;  below  they  are  4  to  12  inches  thick.  The  rock  is  a  fineTgrained 
compact  magnesian  limestone,  yellowish  or  reddish  gray,  often  streaked  or 
speckled  with  green.  Its  layers  are  generally  separated  by  a  thin  film,  or 
sometimes  by  a  seam  %  inch  thick,  of  dark  green  crumbling  sandstone. 
The  upper  part  of  these  beds  in  the  race-way  of  the  Hebron  stone-mill  con- 
tains a  layer  of  soft  sandstone  one  foot  thick.  Several  quarries  are  worked 
slightly  on  each  side  of  the  river. 

Other  exposures  of  this  limestone  in  the  Minnesota  valley  are  few.  It  is 
next  recognized  in  two  low  outcrops,  a  mile  apart,  at  the  east  side  of  Sibley 
county  f  30  miles  from  Hebron  in  a  straight  line.  The  first  is  on  land  of 
Henry  Young,  in  the  south  part  of  sec.  13,  Jessenland.  The  rock  is  yellowish 
buff  limestone,  nearly  level  in  stratification,  in  layers  1  to  4  inches  thick, 
much  divided  and  broken  by  vertical  and  oblique  seams  and  cracks.  A  half 
dozen  kilns  of  lime  have  been  burned  from  this  rock  within  the  past  two 
years.  The  second  outcrop  is  owned  by  Walter  E.  Doheny,  and  lies  in  the 
south-west  corner  of  Faxon,  only  a  short  distance  from  the  town  line  and 
river.  Its  extent,  height,  stratification,  and  jointed  condition  are  nearly 
the  same  as  in  the  last.  It  is  a  dull  red,  slightly  arenaceous  limestone.  A 
quarry  seven  feet  deep  shows  layers  1  to  5  inches  thick,  often  separated  by 
thin  earthy  seams. 

In  St.  Lawrence,  10  miles  north-east  from  the  foregoing,  this  limestone 
occurs  occasionally  for  a  distance  of  nearly  two  miles,  having  its  top  about 
45  feet  above  the  river.  It  is  nearly  level  in  stratification,  in  beds  from  2  to 
18  inches  thick.  The  color  is  buff,  reddish,  or  yellowish  gray,  usually  with 
frequent  green  specks.  In  composition  it  is  a  siliceous  magnesian  limestone. 
It  has  been  considerably  quarried,  and  supplies  good  building  stone.  A 
vertical  thickness  of  about  15  feet  is  seen  in  quarries  and  natural  exposures  ; 
and  wells  here  have  drilled  into  it  24  feet,  without  reaching  its  base. 

The  reference  of  all  these  outcrops  to  a  horizon  below  the  Jordan  sand- 
stone is  based  on  their  lithological  character,  and  on  the  position  and  strati- 
fication of  neighboring  rocks  belonging  higher  in  this  group.  At  Jordan,  3 
miles  east  from  St.  Lawrence,  wells  encounter  the  St.  Lawrence  limestone, 
pinkish  buff  in  color  and  very  compact  and  hard,  lying  directly  beneath  the 
soft  and  friable  Jordan  sandstone.  At  the  upper  brewery  the  well  was  12 
feet  deep,  10  feet  in  sandstone  and  2  feet  in  limestone.  The  well  of  the 
lower  brewery,  11  feet  deep,  was  dug  6  feet  in  sandstone,  and  then  5  feet  in 
this  very  hard  limestone.  Below  this  it  was  drilled  25  feet,  all  the  way  in 
limestone,  which  was  thought  to  grow  harder ;  its  base  was  not  reached. 
The  limestone  also  occurs  in  the  bed  of  Sand  creek,  at  the  pier  of  the  private 
bridge  in  front  of  the  lower  brewery.  All  these  exposures  of  St.  Lawrence 


38     % 

limestone  in  the  Minnesota  valley  probably  exhibit  its  upper  portion,  and 
its  thickness  here  remains  undetermined.  In  Fillmore  and  Houston  eounties 
it  is  about  200  feet  thick,  forming  more  than  half  of  the  Lower  Magnesian 
group. 

The  Jordan  Sandstone.  Next  above  the  last  is  a  coarse-grained  sandstone  ; 
white  or  light  gray,  or  often  somewhat  stained  with  iron-rust.  It  is  usually 
soft  and  crumbling,  so  that  it  is  readily  excavated  with  a  shovel ;  but  some  of 
its  beds,  quarried  at  Jordan,  yield  stone  sufficiently  durable  for  the  con- 
struction of  large  mills  and  bridge  masonry.  It  becomes  harder  upon  expo- 
sure to  the  air,  and  its  ledges  sometimes  have  an  indurated  surface  while 
they  are  quite  friable  within.  The  stratification  is  level  or  nearly  so,  in 
beds  that  vary  from  six  inches  to  3  feet  in  thickness.  While  each  of  these 
layers  is  plainly  horizontal,  its  lamination  is  frequently  oblique,  being  inclined 
5°  to  20°.  This  structure  is  the  same  with  that  often  seen  in  recent  sand- 
deposits,  where  the  material  was  spread  and  arranged  by  strong  currents. 
The  direction  of  this  inclination  is  variable,  and  seems  to  indicate  the  action 
of  tides  or  waves  in  water  of  no  great  depth.  This  sandstone,  however, 
extends  over  a  large  area,  with  a  comparatively  uniform  thickness,  which 
is  40  or  50  feet  in  the  Minnesota  valley  and  25  to  40  feet  in  Fillmore  and 
Houston  counties. 

In  the  vicinity  of  Mankato  this  sandstone  underlies  the  Shakopee  lime- 
stone at  the  quarries  upon  each  side  of  the  river.  They  also  occur  in  the 
same  manner,  forming  bluffs,  at  Kasota,  St.  Peter,  Ottawa  and  Louisville, 
as  will  be  more  fully  described  in  speaking  of  the  limestone. 

Very  extensive  exposures  of  the  Jordan  sandstone  are  seen  beside  the  river- 
road  in  Oshawa,  extending  3  miles  above  St.  Peter.  It  is  easily  disintegrated, 
which  often  causes  slightly  harder  layers  near  the  top  to  overhang.  Many 
excavations,  used  for  the  same  purpose  as  cellars,  have  been  made  in  these 
cliffs.  This  sandstone  also  forms  the  foot  of  the  bluffs  at  the  south  side  of  a 
creek  that  enters  the  Minnesota  at  the  north-east  corner  of  Traverse  town- 
ship. At  these  places  the  sandstone  rises  40  or  50  feet  above  the  river,  and 
is  capped  by  Shakopee  limestone,  less  conspicuously  exposed. 

In  Lake  Prairie  the  sandstone  is  seen  at  several  places,  as  in  a  ravine 
crossed  by  the  river-road  nearly  opposite  Ottawa,  and  at  Patrick  Osborn's 
and  Frank  Linter's,  within  \%  miles  farther  north.  Its  top  in  all  these  ' 
localities  is  about  35  feet  above  the  river;  and  at  Mr.  Osborn's  the  Shakopee 
limestone  is  seen  overlying  it.  At  and  near  Mr.  Linter's  the  sandstone 
forms  three  outcrops,  not  protected  by  its  usual  cap  of  limestone.  The  well 
here  went  through  soil  and  drift,  5  feet ;  gray  and  white  sandstone,  25  feet, 
sand,  10  feet,  an  unconsolidated  layer  of  this  stone ;  and  white  sandstone, 
as  above,  10  feet.  Water  comes  at  the  bottom,  which  is  probably  near  the 
underlying  limestone. 

At  Jordan  this  sandstone  forms  numerous  outcrops  for  three- fourths  of  a 
mile  along  the  valley  of  Sand  creek.  The  St.  Lawrence  limestone  is  found 
beneath  it  here,  as  already  described.  The  stratification  at  this  place  is 
horizontal,  and  the  exposures  are  between  35  and  75  feet,  approximately, 
above  the  river.  Here  and  in  several  outcrops  of  this  rock  occurring  within 
6  miles  northward  in  the  Minnesota  valley,  the  overlying  Shakopee  lime- 
stone is  wanting.  Four  miles  from  Jordan,  in  the  south  edge  of  Louisville, 
are  extensive  exposures  of  the  sandstone,  rising  about  40  feet  above  the  river. 


39 

At  the  highway  bridge  over  Van  Oser's  creek,  these  beds  dip  15°  W.  N.  W., 
owing  to  some  local  disturbance  which  does  not  generally  affect  this  area. 
Little  Rapids  in  the  Minnesota  river,  one  and  a  half  miles  to  the  west,  is 
caused  by  two  nearly  level  outcrops  of  this  sandstone. 

The  Shakopee  Limestone.  This  highest  member  of  the  Lower  Magnesian 
group  is  seen  at  many  places  overlying  the  stratum  last  described.  It  is  a 
magnesian  limestone  of  buff  color,  often  mottled  in  alternate  red  and  yellow 
tints.  The  stratification  is  nearly  level  in  .beds  from  a  few  inches  to  three 
feet  or  more  in  thickness.  In  some  places,  as  at  Kasota,  in  the  Asylum 
quarry  at  St.  Peter,  and  at  Mankato,  a  part  of  these  beds  are  compact  and 
supply  an  excellent  stone  for  every  purpose  in  building  or  monumental  work  ; 
but  generally  this  rock  is  much  broken  by  little  hollows  and  crevices,  and  is 
of  unequal  texture,  some  portions  being  especially  sandy  or  coarse  in  grain, 
or  having  contorted  and  obscure  lamination.  It  is  burned  extensively  for 
lime  at  Mankato,  Caroline  station,  Ottawa,  Louisville  and  Shakopee.  The 
only  observation  of  any  rock  lying  upon  this  limestone  in  the  Minnesota 
valley  is  at  the  Asylum  quarry,  where  Prof.  Winchell  found  it  covered  by 
two  feet  of  white  friable  sandstone,  with  a  thin  strip  of  green  shale  about 
midway  in  it.  This  is  supposed  to  be  the  St.  Peter  sandstone,  which  is 
known  to  be  next  in  stratigraphic  order  above  this  limestone ;  it  may,  how- 
ever, be  a  Cretaceous  deposit.  The  Shakopee  limestone  in  the  Minnesota 
valley  varies  in  thickness  from  about  50  feet  thus  indicated  here  to  70  or  80 
feet  at  Shakopee ;  in  Fillmore  county  it  is  about  75  feet ;  in  Wilmington, 
Houston  county,  it  has  been  found  to  be  64  feet. 

In  Belgrade,  opposite  Mankato,  about  40  feet  of  Shakopee  limestone  are 
•exposed,  affording  valuable  quarries.  In  a  ravine  about  25  rods  west  of  the 
principal  quarry  here,  the  underlying  Jordan  sandstone  is  seen  for  7  feet 
vertically,  its  top  being  about  30  feet  above  the  river.  At  the  quarries  in 
the  north  part  of  Mankato,  50  feet  of  limestone  is  shown  resting  upon  the 
Jordan  sandstone  at  about  25  feet  above  the  river.  A  terrace  of  these  strata, 
averaging  a  mile  in  width  and  75  feet  in  height  above  the  river,  extends 
thence  7  miles  northward  to  Kasota ;  beyond  which  it  is  continued  in 
decreasing  height  on  the  other  side  of  the  river  through  St.  Peter.  The 
railroad  well  at  Kasota  station  went  through  drift,  mostly  limestone  gravel, 
8  feet ;  solid  limestone,  21  feet ;  and  sandstone,  6  feet.  Here  and  generally 
in  this  vicinity,  the  base  of  the  limestone  is  about  40  feet  above  the  river  ; 
but  it  sinks  to  about  half  this  height  in  going  1)£  miles  northward  in  St. 
Peter,  between  the  railroad-bridge  and  the  highway- bridge. 

Ottawa  is  situated  on  another  terrace  of  Shakopee  limestone  underlain  by 
Jordan  sandstone.  Their  junction  in  the  bluff  near  Charles  Schwartz'  lime- 
kiln, called  White  Rock  bluff  by  Dr.  Shumard,  is  about  45  feet  above  the 
river.  The  terrace  generally  rises  20  or  25  feet  higher,  which  is  probably 
the  average  depth  of  the  limestone  remaining  here. 

The  next  extensive  exposures  of  the  Shakopee  limestone  are  found  in 
Louisville,  30  miles  farther  down  the  valley.  Quarries  which  supply  good 
stone  for  foundations  and  bridge  masonry  are  worked  here  on  land  of  Mrs. 
M.  A.  Spencer,  \y2  miles  south-east  from  Carver.  Here  the  limestone  has  a 
thickness  of  about  30  feet,  and  4  feet  of  the  Jordan  sandstone  is  visible  below 
it,  their  junction  being  at  12  or  15  feet  above  the  river.  This  is  the  lowest 
point  in  the  valley  at  which  the  Jordan  sandstone  has  been  seen.  A  terrace 


40 

of  this  limestone,  40  to  50  feet  above  the*  river,  extends  thence  two  miles- 
northward.  The  St.  Paul  &  Sioux  City  railroad  is  built  upon  this ;  and 
close  at  its  east  side  another  terrace,  formed  by  the  upper  part  of  this  lime- 
stone, rises  40  feet  higher.  A  quarry  in  its  top  half  supplies  rock  for  lime- 
burning  at  a  point  a  half  mile  east  from  the  Spencer  quarry.  A  level-topped 
outlier  of  the  upper  terrace  occurs  50  rods  south-west  from  these  lime-kilns. 

At  Shakopee  the  limestone  rises  from  the  river's  edge  to  a  height  of  50 
feet,  its  upper  20  feet  being  quarried  for  lime.  Beneath  the  terrace  of  sand 
and  gravel  at  the  south  and  south-east,  commonly  called  "  Shakopee  prairie," 
the  limestone  is  found  at  a  depth  of  40  or  50  feet,  its  top  being  60  to  70  feet 
above  the  river.  Water  is  obtained  in  the  wells  on  this  terrace  only  after 
drilling  60  to  80  feet  in  the  limestone.  Thus  Major  H.  B.  Strait's  well,  122 
feet  deep,  is  soil  and  sand,  8  feet ;  clay,  30 ;  limestone,  84,  its  last  5  feet 
being  light  gray  in  color ;  water  abundant,  rising  9  feet.  J.  A.  Wilder's 
well,  112  feet  deep,  is  soil,  2 ;  yellow  stratified  clay,  5  ;  sand  and  gravel,  inter- 
stratified,  coarsest  below,  38  ;  hard  limestone,  61 ;  quicksand  and  sandstone,, 
2  feet,  containing  plenty  of  water,  which  does  not  rise  ;  "  flint  rocks,"  4  feet. 
These  are  within  the  incorporated  limits  of  Shakopee.  Amos  Riggs'  well, 
li^  miles  south- east  from  these,  in  the  S.  E.  %  of  sec.  18,  Eagle  Creek,  is  115 
feet  deep,  in  order  as  follows  :  soil,  2 ;  sand  and  fine  gravel,  38  ;  very  coarse 
gravel,  with  pebbles  up  to  1}£  feet  in  diameter,  10  feet ;  rotten  sandy  lime- 
stone, picked,  5  feet;  limestone  drilled,  nearly  all  alike,  60;  water  comes 
abundantly  at  107,  not  rising. 

Four  miles  east  of  Shakopee,  on  land  of  Thomas  Durose,  sec.  3,  Eagle 
Creek,  this  limestone  has  a  low  outcrop  near  the  river,  which  has  been  slightly 
quarried.  About  six  miles  farther  east,  at  Hamilton,  is  the  lowest  point  at 
which  the  Shakopee  limestone  is  seen  in  the  Minnesota  valley.  Here  it 
occurs  for  about  50  feet  along  the  bottom  of  the  raceway  of  Quirm  Brothers' 
mill,  at  a  height  of  20  or  25  feet  above  the  river.  Farther  east  this  lime- 
stone sinks  below  the  level  of  the  river,  and  the  bluffs  of  Fort  Snelling 
and  its  vicinity  are  composed  of  the  overlying  St.  Peter  sandstone  capped 
by  Trenton  limestone. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  the  nearly  level  position  of  these  very  ancient 
strata,  wThich  have  scarcely  suffered  any  disturbance  since  their  deposition. 
Alternately  beds  of  limestone  and  sandstone  were  accumulated  upon  the 
floor  of  the  Paleozoic  sea,  and  they  have  been  lifted  600  to  1000  feet  or  more 
without  being  broken  or  tilted.  The  height  above  sea  of  the  base  of  the 
Shakopee  limestone  where  it  has  been  observed  within  the  Minnesota  valley,, 
is  at  Mankato,  780  to  795  ;  at  Kasota,  about  785  ;  at  St.  Peter  bridge,  about 
760;  at  Ottawa,  780 ;  and  at  Louisville,  about  720.  The  distance  included  is 
45  miles  in  a  straight  line. 

The  Lower  Magnesian  group  in  this  valley  is  nearly  destitute  of  fossils. 
In  the  Shakopee  limestone,  Prof.  Winchell  found  Orthis  at  Mr.  Clapp's 
quarry  for  lime-burning  in  the  S.  E.  %  of  sec.  17,  Kasota;  and  Dr.  Shumard 
found  Lingula  Dakotaensis  and  trilobite  fragments  at  Kasota,  and  the  same, 
with  another  species  of  Lingula  and  an  Orthis,  at  the  White  Rock  or  Ottawa 
bluff.  In  the  Jordan  sandstone,  Dr.  Shumard  found  Straparollas  Minneso- 
tensis  a  mile  above  Traverse  des  Sioux  and  again  at  Kasota. 

The  Cretaceous.  The  first  important  exposures  of  Cretaceous  beds  found 
in  descending  the  Minnesota  river,  are  in  the  valley  cut  by  the  Redwood 


41 

river  below  Redwood  Falls,  where  a  lignitic  bed  of  clay  or  shale  has  been 
explored  by  a  drift  to  the  distance  of  40  feet.  This  bed  varies  from  7  to  2^ 
feet  in  thickness.  It  is  a  nearly  black,  more  or  less  clayey  deposit,  and 
contains  much  lignite  of  two  kinds,  one  pulverized  or  in  small  fragments, 
resembling  charcoal,  the  other  hard  and  compact,  in  larger  lumps,  appearing 
like  cannel  coal.  In  the  bank  of  Crow  creek,  3^  miles  below  Redwood 
Falls,  beds  of  the  same  character,  4  feet  or  more  in  thickness,  and  containing 
leaf  impressions,  have  been  explored  by  drifting  some  200  feet.  They  also 
occur  and  have  been  somewhat  tested  in  several  other  ravines  in  that 
vicinity.  A  similar  coaly  layer,  \%  feet  thick,  has  been  tunnelled  into  40 
feet  upon  the  east  side  of  Fort  creek,  a  third  of  a  mile  east  of  Fort  Ridgely. 
No  compact,  continuous  seam  of  coal  has  been  yet  found  in  any  of  these 
beds,  though  much  search  has  been  made.  The  fragments  obtained  are 
insufficient  in  amount  to  be  of  any  practical  value.  They  are  the  same  with 
the  pieces  of  "charcoal"  and  "stone  coal"  that  are  sparingly  scattered  in 
the  drift  throughout  all  south-western  Minnesota,  so  that  frequently  one  or 
two  are  found  in  digging  a  well.  The  origin  of  these  pieces,  which  vary  in 
size  up  to  3  or  very  rarely  6  inches  in  diameter,  is  from  beds  like  the  foregoing 
that  have  been  ploughed  up  by  the  ice-sheet.  It  appears  nearly  certain 
that  no  workable  coal  deposits  exist  in  this  region. 

Sandy  marl,  horizontally  stratified,  probably  Cretaceous,  is  seen  in  the 
lower  part  of  the  bluff  below  the  Lower  Sioux  Agency,  three  miles  south- 
east from  Crow  creek.  Two  miles  farther  east,  on  the  north  side  of  the 
river,  concretionary  marl  or  limy  earth,  nearly  white,  occurs  in  the  banks  of 
a  small  creek  about  three-quarters  of  a  mile  .from  its  entrance  into  the  Min- 
nesota valley.  An  overlying  bed  of  similar  material,  colored  and  hardened 
by  iron-rust,  is  exposed  18  feet  vertically. 

In  New  Ulm  the  grading  of  Third  North  street  close  north-east  of  the 
railroad,  exposes  Cretaceous  clays.  This  cut  is  14  feet  deep  and  200  feet 
long.  Its  upper  4  feet  are  soil  and  drift,  containing  and  overspread  with 
many  boulders  of  granite,  gneiss  and  schists,  up  to  6  feet  in  diameter.  The 
remaining  10  feet  are  curved,  contorted,  and  irregularly  interstratified,  red, 
yellow,  green  and  gray  clays.  They  are  free  from  gravel,  but  contain  flat, 
'  limy  concretions,  in  some  portions  abundant  up  to  one  inch  in  diameter,  and 
elsewhere  joined  in  sheets  a  foot  or  le^s  in  length  and  a  half  inch  or  less  in 
thickness,  conforming  with  the  stratification.  These  strata  are  eroded  and 
covered  unconformably  by  the  drift.  The  terraces  on  which  New  Ulm  is 
built  have  a  surface  of  drift,  mostly  stratified  gravel  and  sand,  10  to  20  feet 
thick  ;  underlain  by  beds  that  are  probably  of  Cretaceous  age,  consisting  of 
fine  blue  clay,  bedded,  weathering  white.  4  to  10  feet  thick,  and  sand  or  fine 
gravel,  readily  crumbling  and  containing  rounded  lumps  of  a  fine  white 
powder,  exposed  20  to  30  feet  vertically.  Deposits  of  clay,  which  have  been 
much  used  for  the  manufacture  of  fire-bricks  and  pottery,  occur  in  the 
banks  of  the  Waraju  or  Big  Cottonwood  river  south-west  of  New  Ulm. 
These  with  associated  sandy  marl,  sandstone,  and  thick  beds  of  sand,  are 
probably  Cretaceous  deposits.  Other  beds  of  this  period,  consisting  of 
cavernous  and  nodular  gray  limestone,  much  of  which  has  been  burned  for 
lime,  interstratified  with  green  and  red  clay  and  shale,  occur  on  the  north 
side  of  the  river  about  a  mile  below  New  Ulm,  being  half  way  between  the 
conglomerate  and  quartzyte,  and  again  a  mile  farther  south-east  on  the 


42* 

south  side.     In  each  place  these  strata  form  a  terrace  about  35  feet  above  the 
river. 

Eight  miles  below  New  Ulm  on  the  north  side  of  the  river,  Cretaceous 
sandstone  has  been  slightly  quarried  on  land  of  William  Fritz,  in  the  N.  E. 
%  of  sec.  16,  Courtland.  It  lies  in  layers  from  1  to  6  feet  thick,  some  of 
which  contain  fragments  of  wood,  charcoal,  and  angiospermous  leaves. 
Interstratifled  with  these  layers  are  others,  6  inches  to  3  feet  thick,  of  white 
uncemented  sand.  Several  outcrops  are  found  here  and  others  appear  occa- 
sionally for  a  mile  south-eastward,  varying  in  height  from  25  to  40  feet 
above  the  river.  The  same  rock  occurs  again  on  land  of  Henry  Greenholtz, 
3  miles  south-east  from  the  last,  in  sec.  24,  Courtland,  and  has  been  quarried 
a  little  for  culverts  and  cellar- walls.  Its  outcrop  is  30  rods  south-east  from 
his  house,  and  about  35  feet  above  the  river.  There  is  an  irregular  slope  at 
each  of  these  localities,  amounting  to  about  50  feet  in  %  mile  or  less, 
between  the  foot  of  the  bluffs  and  the  river. 

All  the  strata  here  described  and  referred  to  the  Cretaceous  age,  lie  in  a 
nearly  horizontal  position  beneath  the  drift.  They  have  only  yielded  fossils 
in  a  few  places,  and  these  have  been  mostly  obscure  plant  remains  and 
lignite.  Similar  formations,  containing  characteristic  Cretaceous  fossils, 
have  a  great  development  in  the  region  drained  by  the  upper  Missouri  river. 
The  Shakopee  limestone  at  Mankato,  St.  Peter,  and  Ottawa,  contains  in 
its  cavities  and  fissures  singular  deposits  of  greenish  or  bluish  clay,  which 
becomes  white  by  exposure  to  the  weather.  At  the  railroad  bridge  across 
the  Blue  Earth  river,  a  cut  in  this  limestone  shows  hollows  and  crevices 
reaching  20  feet  below  the  top  of*the  rock.  These  cavities  are  water- worn, 
and  their  surface  is  thinly  covered  by  iron  ore,  from  a  half  inch  to  an  inch 
and  a  half  thick.  Within  them,  after  this  ferruginous  crust  was  formed, 
clay  has  been  sifted  and  packed  so  as  to  fill  irregular  spaces,  often  several 
feet  in  diameter,  enclosed  and  partially  covered  by  the  limestone.  The  clay 
here  is  greenish  or  bluish,  weathering  white,  in  some  portions  sandy,  hori- 
zontally bedded,  or  conforming  somewhat  to  the  shape  of  the  hollow  that 
holds  it.  The  quarries  at  St.  Peter  contain  in  clefts  and  water- worn  cavities 
a  similar  greenish  white  silt,  holding  much  sand  and  many  angular  flinty 
fragments.  At  Ottawa,  John  R.  Clark's  quarry  exposes  a  nearly  vertical 
seam  of  this  clay,  1  to  2  feet  wide,  6  feet  deep  and  extending  lower,  seen 
here  for  8  rods  in  a  nearly  west-to-east  course.  Nearly  in  the  line  of  its 
continuation,  at  25  rods  farther  east,  the  same  clay  was  found  in  Charles 
Needham's  well,  in  a  similar  seam,  reaching  down  15  feet  in  the  limestone. 
At  St.  Peter  and  Ottawa  no  marks  of  stratification  can  be  seen.  None  of 
these  clays  have  yielded  any  fossils.  Their  probable  origin  has  been  shown 
by  Prof.  Winchell,  who  attributes  them  to  deposition  while  this  region  was 
deeply  covered  by  the  Cretaceous  ocean. 

Glacial  Drift.  The  presence  at  many  points  in  the  Minnesota  valley  of 
decomposed  granite  and  gneiss,  and  of  Cretaceous  beds,  both  of  which  would 
yield  readily  to  eroding  agencies,  shows  that  the  moving  ice-sheet  did  not 
everywhere  plough  up  all  the  loose  material  under  it.  A  considerable  depth, 
however,  has  probably  been  removed  ;  and  these  may  be  scanty  remnants  of 
thick  beds  which  covered  this  region  generally  before  the  glacial  period. 
More  commonly  the  ice-sheet  removed  all  such  material,  and  gathered  a 
part  of  its  drift  from  the  underlying  solid  rocks ;  as  is  shown  by  their  being 


43 


frequently  rounded,  smoothed,  and  marked  with  parallel  furrows  and 
scratches,  called  striae.  Similarly  scratched  pebbles  and  boulders  are  found 
in  the  glacial  drift.  These  were  the  graving  tools  by  which  the  bed-rock 
was  worn  and  striated.  They  were  held  firmly  by  being  frozen  in  the  bot- 
tom of  the  ice  and  were  pushed  forward  by  its  current,  which  thus  recorded 
its  direction.  Our  observations  of  striae  are  of  course  limited  to  the  rock 
exposures  seen  along  the  Minnesota  valley,  and  there  many  of  the  rocks  are 
so  disintegrated  by  the  weather  that  these  marks  are  effaced. 

Courses  of  Strict  in  the  Valley  of  the  Minnesota  River, 
referred  to  the  true  meridian. 


Locality. 

Formation. 

Course. 

Granite,  

..S.E. 

F  Frankhaus'  S.  E  J  of  sec.  32.  t.  121,  r.  45,  

Granite,  

..S.E. 

S.  E.  part  of  Granite  Falls,  on  N.  E.  side  of  river,  at  sev- 

Gneiss,  

S.45°-50°E 

Beaver  Falls  at  dam  of  O  K  mill  ....          

Gneiss,  

S  60°  E 

2  miles  below  Birch  Cooley  creek,  N.  W.  i  of  sec.  10,  t. 
112  r    34               

.  S.  60°  E. 

1J  miles  west  from  Fort  Ridgely,  

Granite,  

S.  60°  E 

Redstone  1J  miles  S  E  from  New  Ulm,  

S  25°  E  • 

Jordan,  observed  at  several  places  by  Foss,  Wells  &  Co., 

S  E 

In  the  topographic  description  of  this  region  it  has  been  pointed  out  that 
this  valley  lies  nearly  midway  between  parallel  terminal  moraines,  which 
extend  from  north- west  to  south-east,  about  80  miles  apart ;  that  on  the 
north-east  reaching  from  the  Leaf  hills  to  Glenwood,  Minnetonka  lake,  and 
Rice  county,  and  that  on  the  south-west  being  the  well-known  massive 
Coteau  des  Prairies.  These  series  of  drift-hills  are  connected  by  a  loop  that 
passes  through  Hancock,  Kossuth  and  Palo  Alto  counties  in  northern  Iowa, 
making  a  single  contemporaneous  series  shaped  like  the  letter  U,  and 
bounding  the  area  covered  by  a  vast  lobe  or  tongue  of  the  ice-sheet.  Near 
the  center  of  this  area  the  glacial  current,  as  shown  by  these  striae,  was  in 
the  direction  of  its  axis  or  south-easterly ;  but  in  approaching  its  margin  we 
must  suppose  that  it  was  everywhere  deflected  to  a  course  nearly  perpendic- 
ular to  its  terminal  moraine.  The  straight  trunk  and  divergent  branches  of 
a  tree  may  illustrate  our  idea  of  the  axial  and  marginal  motions  of  the  ice- 
fields upon  this  area.  The  terminal  moraine  accumulated  at  their  border 
has  been  described  under  the  head  of  topography,  so  far  as  it  has  yet  been 
explored. 

The  most  remarkable  features  of  our  glacial  deposits  are  their  great  depth 
and  extent.  It  has  been  already  stated  that  the  old  rocks  are  almost  every- 
where concealed  ;  nor  are  they  reached  by  the  deepest  wells,  which  go  down 
75  to  250  feet  without  passing  through  the  drift,  except  in  two  or  three 
instances,  upon  this  entire  area  of  16,000  square  miles.  Through  all  this 
part  of  the  State  the  drift  probably  averages  as  deep  as  along  the  course  of 


Minnesota  river,  where  a  channel  cut  down  in  many  places  to  the  older 
rocks  shows  these  superficial  deposits  to  be  from  100  to  200  feet  thick.  We 
are  not  yet  able  to  estimate  what  portion  of  this  material  was  here  before 
the  glacial  period,  in  the  form  of  decomposed  and  in  part  solid  rock,  Creta- 
ceous strata,  mostly  unconsolidated,  and  the  alluvium  of  rivers.  The  aggre- 
gate of  these  was  great,  but  it  seeing  probable  that  this  thick  drift-sheet 
includes  in  addition  to  these  materials  an  equally  large  amount  brought  by 
the  ice-current  from  areas  farther  north. 

Till,  or  unmodified  glacial  drift,  known  also  as  hardpan  or  boulder-clay, 
consisting  of  clay,  sand,  gravel,  and  boulders,  mixed  indiscriminately 
together,  makes  up  nearly  the  whole  of  this  great  mass  of  superficial  deposits  -r 
excepting  the  lacustrine  plain  of  the  Red  River  valley,  filled  by  Lake  Agassiz 
during  the  retreat  of  the  ice-sheet,  and  the  east  part  of  Becker  and  Otter 
Tail  counties,  which  are  mainly  modified  drift.  Very  finely  pulverized  rock, 
forming  a  stiff,  compact,  unctuous  clay,  is  the  principal  ingredient  of  the 
till  upon  this  area,  whether  at  great  depths  or  at  the  surface.  The  admix- 
ture of  sand  and  gravel  is  somewhat  variable,  being  often  greater  in  the 
upper  than  in  the  lower  part  of  the  till.  It  is  rarely  enough  to  cause  the 
side  of  a  well  or  cellar  to  fall  down  at  the  time  of  excavation.  Layers  of 
sand  and  gravel  are  frequently  enclosed  in  the  till.  They  are  commonly 
from  a  few  inches  to  a  few  feet  in  thickness,  and  often  are  filled  with  water. 
At  considerable  depths  the  water  is  generally  under  hydrostatic  pressure, 
which  causes  it  to  rise  in  wells  to  within  10,  20  or  30  feet  below  the  surface, 
sometimes  even  overflowing.  Thick  beds  of  stratified  gravel,  sand  and  clay, 
varying  from  10  to  50  or  75  feet,  also  occur  occasionally  below  till,  wThich 
is  again  found  beneath  them  where  these  stratified  deposits  have  been 
penetrated. 

The  till  is  also  found,  even  where  not  so  divided  by  intercalations  of  mod- 
ified drift,  to  be  in  massive  beds  which  differ  from  each  other  as  to  color, 
hardness,  and  relative  proportions  of  clay,  sand,  and  stones,  these  changes 
being  often  noticed  together  at  a  definite  line.  The  most  notable  distinction 
in  color  is  that  the  upper  part  of  the  till,  to  a  depth  that  varies  from  5  to  50 
feet,  but  is  most  commonly  between  10  .and  30  feet,  is  yellowish,  due  to  the 
influence  of  air  and  water  upon  the  iron  contained  in  thig  deposit,  changing 
it  from  the  protoxide  state  to  hydrated  sesquioxide.  At  greater  depths  the 
color  is  much  darker  and  usually  bluish.  In  a  few  instances  a  yellow  bed  of 
till  is  reported  beneath  or  enclosed  in  the  blue  till.  Several  observations  show 
that  the  yellow  color  of  the  till,  in  its  upper  portion,  has  been  mainly  pro- 
duced by  exposure  to  the  weather  since  its  formation,  and  was  not  probably 
occasioned  by  differences  in  the  conditions  of  its  accumulation  in  and 
beneath  the  ice-sheet. 

Another  important  difference  in  the  till  is  that  its  upper  portion  is  more 
commonly  softer  and  easily  dug  with  a  shovel,  while  below  there  is  a  sudden 
change  to  a  hard  and  compact  deposit,  which  must  be  picked  and  is  often 
three  times  as  expensive  for  excavation.  There  is  frequently  a  thin  layer  of 
sand  or  gravel  between  these  kinds  of  till,  which  have  their  division  line  at 
a  depth  that  varies  from  5  to  30  or  very  rarely  40  feet.  Owing  to  the  more 
compact  and  impervious  character  of  the  lower  till,  the  change  to  a  yellow 
color  is  usually  limited  to  the  upper  till.  There  are  instances,  however, 


45 

where  this  weathering  has  not  reached  to  the  line  that  divides  the  softer 
from  the  harder  till,  and  others  where  it  has  extended  considerably  lower. 
The  probable  cause  of  this  difference  in  hardness  was  the  pressure  of  the 
vast  weight  of  the  ice-sheet  upon  the  lower  till,  while  the  upper  till  was 
contained  in  the  ice  and  dropped  loosely  at  its  melting. 

Again,  in  numerous  places  the  upper  till  as  here  described  is  directly 
underlain  by  a  softer  till,  moist  and  sticky,  and  dark  bluish  in  color.  This 
is  usually  of  considerable  thickness,  or  between  20  and  50  feet.  It  often 
encloses  or  is  underlain  by  beds  of  water-bearing  sand  ;  but  occasionally  it 
has  been  penetrated  and  is  found  to  lie  directly  upon  a  bed  of  very  compact 
till,  such  as  usually  comes  next  below  the  upper  till.  In  some  cases  this  soft 
and  moist  deposit  is  evidently  stratified  clay,  free  from  gravel  or  only  hold- 
ing here  and  there  a  stone,  and  all  varieties  appear  to  be  found  between  this 
and  an  unstratified  and  very  pebbly  till ;  as  indeed  it  may  be  that  the  latter 
in  different  localities  shows  all  gradations  from  its  occasionally  very  soft 
•character,  where  a  shovel  can  be  easily  thrust  into  it  to  the  depth  of  a  foot 
or  more,  to  the  hardest  deposits  of  the  lower  till  in  which  a  pick  can  be 
driven  only  an  inch  or  two  at  one  blow. 

The  few  beds  found  in  this  district  which  contain  shells  or  trees  that 
flourished  in  interglacial  epochs,  lie  beneath  two  distinct  beds  of  till,  the 
lower  sometimes  showing  its  usual  hard  and  compact  character,  but  else- 
where being  even  softer  than  the  upper  till. 

Excepting  the  division  into  beds  as  before  described,  the  till  is  an  entirely 
unstratified  deposit.  There  has  been  no  assortment  by  water  of  its  mate- 
rials, and  the  coarsest  and  finest  are  mingled  confusedly  in  the  same  mass. 
Often  a  thickness  of  fifty  feet  or  more  exhibits  no  evidence  of  stratification. 

Small  rock-fragments,  varying  in  size  up  to  the  dimension  of  six  inches, 
are  usually  numerous  and  scattered  through  all  parts  of  the  till ;  they  are, 
however,  seldom  abundant,  and  are  sometimes  so  few  that  in  well-boring 
none  might  be  encountered.  Boulders  of  larger  size  are  less  frequent,  and 
often  a  well  or  even  a  railroad  cut  in  till  fails  to  display  any  of  greater 
diameter  than  2  or  3  feet.  Again  several  may  be  found  of  various  sizes  up 
to  5  or  perhaps  7  or  8  feet.  They  appear  to  be  usually  more  numerous  in 
the  upper  part  of  the  till  than  below.  The  number  of  boulders  over 
one  foot  in  size  ,to  be  found  generally  upon  the  surface  varies  from  one  or 
two  to  ten  on  an  acre  ;  but  often  they  are  more  scarce,  so  that  perhaps  a 
dozen  could  not  be  gathered  on  a  square  mile.  Terminal  and  medial 
moraines  usually  contain  both  small  and  large  boulders  somewhat  more 
abundantly,  and  very  rarely  they  are  so  plentiful  as  to  cover  half  the  ground ; 
their  greater  numbers  being  the  most  important  difference  between  the  till 
forming  the  morainic  hills  and  that  spread  in  gently  undulating  or  nearly 
level  tracts. 

The  largest  boulder  seen  in  the  first  seven  weeks  of  my  exploration  for 
this  survey  was  on  the  hills  of  Langhei,  the  highest  in  Pope  county.  It 
measured  12  by  9  feet,  and  rose  3  feet  above  the  surface,  probably  having  an 
equal  amount  buried.  This  was  the  only  boulder  seen  during  this  time  that 
exceeded  eight  feet  in  diameter,  though  the  area  traversed  was  almost 
entirely  till  and  included  the  Leaf  hills  and  the  continuation  of  this  moraine 
for  100  miles  thence  to  the  south  and  south-east.  Larger  blocks  than  the 
foregoing  were  seen  only  in  the  valley  of  the  Minnesota  river,  the  most 


46 

• 

notable  being  in  Big  Stone  county,  where  two  boulders,  about  30  and  about 
20  feet  in  diameter,  lie  near  the  railroad  between  Correll  and  Odessa  stations. 
Nearly  all  the  large  boulders  throughout  this  whole  region  are  granite  or 
gneiss,  with  occasionally  one  of  some  crystalline  schist  or  of  magnesian 
limestone. 

The  thick  and  almost  universal  mantle  of  drift  prevents  a  reference  of  the 
varieties  of  these  rocks  to  their  sources.  In  general,  the  great  representa- 
tion of  metamorphic  rocks  indicates  that  these  probably  occupy  the  greater 
part  of  this  area,  extending  in  a  wide  belt  from  the  Minnesota  river  to  their 
large  tract  in  the  north-east  part  of  the  State.  The  limestone,  belonging  to 
a  period  later  than  that  of  the  St.  Lawrence  and  Shakopee  limestones,  quite 
probably  occurs  in  place  beneath  the  drift  in  the  north-west  part  of  the 
region  here  reported,  as  is  indicated  by  the  well  already  mentioned  at  Her- 
man, by  Owen's  note  of  limestone  on  the  Red  river  above  Fergus  Falls,  and 
by  the  great  abundance  and  large  size  of  its  boulders  at  localities  near 
Audubon  and  White  Earth  Agency  in  Becker  county.  Northward  it  out- 
crops near  Winnipeg,  and  many  of  its  boulders  in  our  drift  may  have  been 
carried  this  distance  of  200  miles  or  more  in  the  ice-sheet.  The  proportion 
of  limestone  through  the  north-west  part  of  our  district  averages  one-tenth 
or  less  of  boulders  exceeding  a  foot  in  diameter,  while  of  small  pebbles  it 
often  constitutes  half  in  bulk  and  more  than  half  in  number.  Handfuls  of 
pebbles  taken  from  stratified  drift  at  Hawley,  in  Clay  county,  showed  125  of 
limestone,  with  70  of  granites  and  schists ;  at  Muskoda,  they  were  44  and 
36 ;  five  miles  north  of  Breckenridge,  two-thirds  of  the  pebbles  in  a  gravel 
bank  beside  the  Red  river  are  limestone.  South-eastward  a  less  proportion 
of  limestone  is  generally  found,  and  its  abundance  as  boulders  or  pebbles 
seems  to  be  confined  to  occasional  areas  a  few  miles  or  less  in  extent. 

Records  of  wells,  noting  the  order,  thickness,  and  character  of  the  various 
strata  passed  through,  have  been  gathered  in  every  part  of  the  region  here 
reported.  The  total  number  of  wells  thus  noted  is  582.  Of  these  97  are  in 
localities  which  showed  only  modified  drift ;  about  an  equal  number  left  off 
in  the  upper  till,  or  in  beds  of  modified  drift  lying  below  it,  without  going 
deep  enough  to  reach  the  lower  till ;  about  30  were  recorded  because  of  their 
sudden  rise  of  water,  or  for  some  other  reason,  without  obtaining  any  par- 
ticulars as  to  the  material  penetrated ;  and  a  few  were  in  the  rock-forma- 
tions of  the  Minnesota  valley ;  leaving  354  wells  that  show  both  the  yellow 
and  blue  tills,  in  which  the  depth  of  the  change  of  color,  the  occurrence  of 
intercalated  layers  of  modified  drift,  and  generally  the  relative  hardness  of 
the  upper  and  lower  tills  were  noted.  Of  the  last  class,  182,  or  more  than 
half,  found  the  lower  till  notably  harder  than  the  upper  till ;  and  of  this 
number,  53  had  a  layer  of  sand  or  gravel  between  these  beds  of  boulder-clay. 
The  yellow  color  is  almost  always  limited  by  the  line  or  stratified  beds 
between  these  tills  ;  and  where  the  stratified  drift  is  wanting,  a  sudden  and 
well-marked  change  is  noticed  in  hardness,  color,  and  often  in  material. 

Soft  and  moist,  dark  bluish  till,  stony  and  unstratified,  underlies  the  upper 
till  in  45  instances,  in  9  of  them  being  separated  from  the  upper  till  by  sand 
and  gravel  from  2  inches  to  4  feet  thick.  Two  of  these  beds  of  lower  till 
had  their  first  few  feet  hard  and  were  soft  below.  In  21  other  instances 
there  were  found  beds  of  more  or  less  plainly  stratified,  soft,  dark  bluish 
clay,  which  sometimes  was  free  from  all  pebbles,  and  elsewhere  was  quite 


47 

pebbly,  or,  though  generally  free  from  gravel,  yet  contained  rarely  stones  of 
various  sizes  up  to  one  foot  in  diameter.  Of  these  12  lay  directly  below  the 
upper  till,  and  9  were  below  both  this  bed  and  another  of  hard  and  compact 
lower  till.  The  thickness  of  these  beds  of  till  or  of  stratified  clay  varies  from 
5  to  65  feet ;  in|30  cases  it  exceeded  25  feet. 

The  average  thickness  of  the  upper  till  in  256  wells  where  it  is  underlain 
by  much  harder  lower  till,  or  by  beds  of  modified  drift,  is  17  feet.  The 
extremes  are  3  to  5  feet  and  40  feet.  Examples  were  found  where  both  the 
thinnest  and  thickest  of  its  beds  were  underlain  here  by  modified  drift  and 
there  by  typical  lower  till.  About  a  quarter  part  of  the  deep  wells  in  till 
found  no  noticeable  difference  between  its  upper  and  lower  portions  except 
that  of  color. 

Water-bearing  gravel  and  sand,  lying  in  a  nearly  horizontal  layer  from  a 
few  inches  to  five  feet  in  thickness,  were  found  in  148  instances  at  depths 
in  the  lower  till  varying  from  30  to  265  feet.  The  water  almost  always 
rises  from  these  beds,  sometimes  very  suddenly  and  with  much  force. 
At  Audubon,  in  Becker  county,  water  was  struck  at  60  feet,  after  boring 
through  compact  till,  and  its  pressure  was  so  great  that  it  instantly 
threw  up  the  auger  and  shafting,  weighing  600  pounds,  twenty  feet,  filling 
the  boring  with  gravel  to  that  height.  In  three  minutes  it  rose  and  stood 
at  two  feet  below  the  sujface.  Two  wells  in  Hamden,  a  few  miles  to  the 
north,  about  75  and  100  feet  deep,  find  water  at  the  bottom  which  rises  and 
permanently  overflows.  Other  flowing  wells  are  found  in  Wilkin,  Traverse, 
Grant,  Douglas  and  Chippewa  counties.  The  deepest  well  found  is  that 
bored  for  the  railroad  at  Stewart,  in  McLeod  county,  where  the  water  rises 
from  a  depth  of  265  feet  and  stands  at  5  feet  below  the  surface.  In  most 
places  a  sufficient  supply  of  water  for  common  needs 'seeps  into  the  well 
from  the  lower  part  of  the  upper  till  or  is  furnished  by  springs  found  in 
thin  seams  of  sand  or  gravel  next  below  this,  or  within  15  or  20  feet  in  the 
lower  till.  The  water  in  these  wells  usually  rises  slowly,  allowing  plenty  of 
time  for  walling  them  ;  or  often  it  is  under  no  pressure,  and  a  reservoir  must 
be  dug  below  its  source.  The  experience  of  well-diggers  frequently  demon- 
strates that  veins  of  gravel  and  sand  filled  with  water  under  pressure  may  be 
quite  narrow.  Thus  of  several  wells  near  together  one  only  will  encounter  the 
vein,  though  the  others  go  much  deeper.  The  upward  pressure  and  abundant 
supply  of  water,  however,  show  that  though  narrow  the  vein  is  continuous 
through  a  considerable  distance  and  descends  from  a  higher  level.  It  is 
probable  that  many  of  these  courses  of  gravel  and  sand  were  formed  by 
small  sub-glacial  streams. 

Stratified  beds  of  gravel,  sand  or  clay  were  found  between  the  upper  and 
lower  till,  or  lay  beneath  the  upper  till  and  were  not  passed  through,  in  127 
wells ;  77  of  which  showed  2  feet  or  less  of  this  modified  drift ;  22  had 
between  2  and  10  feet ;  7  between  10  and  20  ;  and  21  had  from  20  to  70  feet. 
The  thickest  of  these  beds  were  seldom  penetrated.  The  west  range  of 
townships  in  Otter  Tail  county  may  be  mentioned  as  a  tract  in  which  such 
large  deposits  of  modified  drift  are  frequently  found  under  a  comparatively 
thin  surface  of  upper  till. 

Massive  deposits  of  stratified  gravel  and  sand  in  ort  beneath  the  lower  till 
were  found  in  43  wells.  The  lower  till  above  the  modified  drift  in  these 
wells  averages  26  feet  thick,  its  extremes  being  5  and  53  feet.  The  under- 


48  « 

lying  gravel  and  sand,  with  layer*  of  clay  in  some  instances,  average  17  feet, 
and  range  from  5  to  70  feet  in  thickness. 

Interglacial  epochs,  in  which  animals  and  plants  lived  upon  this  area,  are 
proved  by  their  remains  preserved,  evidently  where  they  were  living,  in  strat- 
ified beds  underlain  and  overlain  by  till.  Such  fossiliferous  beds,  however, 
are  very  rarely  found  in  this  region,  and  the  following  enumeration  includes 
all  that  have  come  to  our  knowledge.  In  sec.  30,  Blakely,  Scott  county,  W. 
R.  Salisbury's  well  was  yellow  till,  15  feet ;  blue  till,  30  feet ;  and  "  mud,  like 
a  lake  bottom,"  three  feet,  this  lowest  bed  containing  many  shells,  grass, 
and  apparently  grains  of  wild  rice.  In  Hutchinson,  5  miles  east  of  the  vil- 
lage, the  well  at  Nancy  Nutt's,  in  S.  E.  %  of  sec.  35,  was  upper  till,  14  feet ; 
much  harder  lower  till,  16  feet ;  and  gray  sand,  2  feet,  the  last  containing 
abundant  snail-shells,  like  those  now  living  in  our  lakes.  S.  D.  Ross'  well, 
%  mile  east  of  this,  was  similar,  finding  at  the  bottom  a  bed  of  sand  filled 
with  these  shells.  At  Olivia  station,  in  sec.  7,  Bird  Island,  Renville  county, 
the  well  at  Lincoln  Brothers'  mill  was  yellow  till,  picked,  10  feet ;  softer  but 
more  rocky  blue  till,  9  feet ;  very  hard  blue  till,  1  foot ;  and  quicksand,  4 
feet.  A  log,  apparently  tamarack,  8  inches  in  diameter,  with  several 
smaller  sticks  and  twigs,  lay  across  this  well,  embedded  in  the  top  of  the 
quicksand.  They  were  chopped  off  at,  each  side.  G.  W.  Burch,  2  miles 
south-west  from  this,  in  sec.  24,  Troy,  found  upper  till,  18  feet ;  dry,  yellow 
sand,  4  feet ;  soft  blue  till,  15  feet ;  black  loam,  perhaps  an  interglacial  soil, 
2  feet ;  and  gray  quicksand,  4  feet,  its  upper  part  containing  a  log  and 
smaller  sticks  like  the  foregoing.  Several  other  wells  within  one  or  two 
miles  about  Olivia  show  similar  remains  of  a  deeply  buried  tamarack  swamp. 
At  Barnesville,  in  Clay  county,  John  Marth's  well  was  till,  12  feet ;  then, 
quicksand,  1  foot,  containing  several  sticks  of  tamarack  up  to  8  inches  in 
diameter,  lying  across  the  well,  which,  together  with  the  inflow  of  water, 
prevented  farther  digging.  In  the  N.  E.  ^  of  sec.  28,  t.  135,  r.  47,  Wilkin 
county,  C.  R.  Gleason's  well  was  upper  till,  8  feet ;  gray  sand,  %  inch ;  much 
harder  lower  till,  18  feet ;  underlain  by  sandy  black  mud,  containing  many 
snail-shells.  The  two  last  are  within  the  area  that  was  afterward  covered 
by  Lake  Agassiz.  All  these  wells  found  a  supply  of  water  in  the  beds  con- 
taining the  fossils  and  therefore  stopped  before  reaching  the  till  wThich 
almost  certainly  underlies  them.  The  locality  first  mentioned,  in  Blakely, 
is  just  at  the  top  of  the  bluffs  of  Minnesota  river,  so  that  the  entire  depth  of 
the  drift  at  this  place,  composed  about  wholly  of  till,  is  known  to  be  more 
than  three  times  that  of  the  well.  The  drift  is  probably  of  equal  thickness 
in  the  other  places  ;  and,  as  shown  by  numerous  wells  125  to  265  feet  deep, 
it  is  generally  composed  of  till,  enclosing  occasional  stratified  beds.  Two 
other  instances  in  which  shells  were  found  by  wrells  in  till,  at  Stewart  and 
near  Campbell,  but  where  nothing  definite  has  yet  been  learned  about  them; 
shells  found  in  the  brick  clay  at  Chaska  overlain  by  till  ;  and  a  tamarack 
swamp  at  Fergus  Falls,  buried  under  12  feet  of  very  coarse  fluvial  deposits, 
complete  this  list.  Though  these  examples  are  few  in  number,  they  yet  are 
regarded  as  undeniable  evidence  that  animals  and  plants  occupied  the  land 
during  temperate  interglacial  epochs,  preceded  and  followed  by  an  arctic 
climate  and  ice-sheets  like  those  now  covering  the  interior  of  Greenland  and 
the  Antarctic  continent.  The  occurrence  of  interglacial  shells  and  trees  in 


49 

the  Red  river  valley  appears  to  prove  that  the  departure  of  the  ice  in  their 
epoch  was  sufficient  to  allow  the  drainage  of  this  valley  northward. 

If  successive  ice- sheets  have  thus  been  accumulated  and  pushed  forward 
upon  this  area,  some  of  them  doubtless  formed  terminal  moraines,  which 
were  afterward  covered  and  their  mounds  and  hills  of  coarsely  rocky  drift 
spread  in  a  nearly  level  stratum  by  the  more  extended  ice-sheet  of  a  later 
epoch.  Such  a  buried  moraine  is  exposed  by  the  deep  channel  of  the  upper 
Minnesota  river.  The  till  here  is  found  to  contain,  at  a  depth  of  40  or  50 
feet  below  the  general  surface,  a  stratum  that  abounds  in  boulders,  usually 
producing  a  narrow  shelf  or  terrace  upon  the  bluffs.  About  Correll  station, 
in  Big  Stone  county,  this  rocky  layer  in  the  till  has  caused  an  extensive  plain 
to  be  left  in  the  process  of  erosion,  50  feet  below  the  top  of  the  bluffs  and 
about  75  feet  above  the  river.  It  is  everywhere  plentifully  strown  with 
boulders,  and  in  some  portions  these  occur  in  heaps  and  patches  covering 
half  the  ground.  The  deserted  channels  north-east  of  Lac  qui  Parle  fre- 
quently have  their  bed  upon  this  stratum  of  boulders.  Its  exposures  along 
the  Minnesota  valley  were  seen  in  many  places  through  a  distance  of  50 
miles,  extending  from  the  Correll  plain  to  a  point  three  miles  below  the 
mouth  of  the  Yellow  Medicine  river. 

Modified  Drift.  In  addition  to  the  beds  of  modified  drift  enclosed  in  the 
till  or  lying  below  it,  other  accumulations  deposited  by  water  occur  on  the 
surface  of  areas  which  are  mainly  till.  They  consist  of  interstratified  gravel 
and  sand  in  knolls  or  mounds  that  rise  10  to  20  feet  above  the  general  level. 
These  are  seldom  very  numerous,  and  are  rarely  extended  in  ridges  or  in  any 
noticeable  series.  Their  origin,  however,  was  probably  similar  to  that  of 
the  gravel  ridges  or  kames  which  often  form  long  series  in  other  drift 
regions,  being  the  deposits  of  glacial  rivers  poured  down  from  the  surface 
of  the  melting  ice-fields.  The  only  place  where  kames  of  the  usual  type 
have  been  observed,  occurring  as  well-marked  parallel  ridges  of  interbedded 
gravel  and  sand,  is  two  miles  south-east  of  Lake  Johanna  in  Pope  county. 
Here  they  are  from  25  to  75  feet  high,  extending  two  miles  from  north  to 
south,  and  the  land  at  each  side  is  modified  drift.  A  less  typical  ridge  of 
this  kind  forms  the  west  shore  of  Wall  lake,  five  miles  east  of  Fergus  Falls. 
The  lake  deposits  of  the  Red  River  valley  have  been  partially  described, 
and  their  origin  treated  of,  in  an  earlier  part  of  this  report.  A  section  of 
these  beds  at  Glyndon,  shown  by  a  boring  at  the  elevator  of  G.  S.  Barnes  & 
Co.,  was  soil,  3  feet ;  quicksand,  22  feet ;  dark  clay,  free  from  stones,  75  feet ; 
very  hard  yellowish  till,  15  feet ;  softer  till,  10  feet.  In  Moorhead  the  well 
at  John  Erickson's  brewery  was  light-colored  clay,  20  feet;  quicksand,  4 
feet ;  blue  clay,  with  gravel  and  boulders,  80  feet ;  underlain  by  sand  from 
which  water  rose  immediately  about  80  feet.  A.  H.  Moore's  well  at  Fargo, 
within  a  mile  west  from  the  last,  was  similar,  being  yellow  clay,  15  feet ;  sand, 
3  feet ;  dark,  bluish  clay,  77  feet,  free  from  pebbles,  excepting  in  its  last 
two  feet ;  underlain  by  sand  from  which  water  rose  to  7  feet  below  the  sur- 
face. At  Georgetown,  16  miles  north  from  these,  a  well  80  feet  deep  was 
wholly  in  stratified  clay,  yellowish  for  about  10  feet  at  the  top  and  dark 
bluish  below,  finding  no  sandy  layers  and  no  water. 

The  modified  drift  which  covers  the  greater  part  of  eastern  Becker  and  Otter 
Tail  counties  is  in  contrast  with  this  plain  of  lacustrine  clay,  being  almost 
wholly  sand  and  fine  gravel,  sometimes  level,  again  moderately  undulating, 

4: 


50  • 

and  occasionally,  as  at  Detroit,  in  swells  and  hills  25  to  40  feet  high.  These 
deposits  are  not  often  penetrated  by  wells,  which  show  them  to  be  in  some 
places  at  least  80  feet  deep.  Southward,  similar  accumulations  of  sand  and 
gravel  are  found  in  the  east  edge  of  Douglas  and  Pope  counties,  while 
eastward  they  have  a  large  extent  outside  the  limits  of  this  report.  They 
are  believed  to  have  been  deposited  by  descending  floods  produced  and 
freighted  by  a  departing  ice-sheet,  which  appears  to  have  sloped  toward  this 
area  from  the  west,  north,  and  east. 

Glacial  melting  also  filled  the  great  valleys  with  stratified  gravel,  sand  and 
clay.  Clearwater  and  Monticello  prairies  in  Wright  county  are  expansions 
of  this  glacial  flood- plain  of  the  Mississippi.  Since  the  ice-age  the  river  has 
channelled  out  and  carried  away  much  of  these  deposits,  leaving  remnants 
upon  each  side.  At  Monticello  and  Clearwater  these  plains  of  modified  drift 
are  70  to  80  feet  above  the  river.  Between  them  and  the  bottomland,  or 
flood-plain  of  the  present  time,  an  intermediate  terrace  is  frequently  seen. 
Monticello  village  is  situated  on  such  an  area,  about  35  feet  above  the  river. 
Northward,  at  St.  Cloud  and  Brainerd,  the  old  flood-plain  is  about  60  feet 
high ;  to  the  southeast  it  descends  a  little  faster  than  the  river,  its  height 
being  45  feet  at  Dayton,  and  from  25  to  30  at  the  head  of  St.  Anthony's  falls. 

The  valley  of  the  Minnesota  river  from  Mankato  to  its  mouth  was  also 
filled  with  modified  drift.  Its  remnants  include  a  terrace  3  miles  long  east 
and  south  of  Kasota ;  the  "  sand  prairie  "  about  4  miles  long  and  averaging 
a  mile  wide,  west  and  north  of  St.  Peter ;  Le  Sueur  prairie,  6  miles  long  and 
from  1  to  3  miles  wide,  beginning  east  of  Ottawa  and  reaching  to  Le  Sueur ; 
the  plain  5  miles  long  and  a  mile  wide,  near  the  middle  of  which  Belle  Plaine 
is  built ;  Spirit  hill  and  "  sand  prairie,"  south-west  and  north-west  of  Jordan ; 
a  terrace  8  miles  long  and  varying  from  a  few  rods  to  2  miles  in  width, 
extending  through  San  Francisco,  Dahlgren,  and  Carver ;  and  Shakopee 
prairie,  8  miles  long  and  averaging  one  mile  wide.  The  height  of  these 
plains  at  Kasota,  St.  Peter,  and  Le  Sueur,  is  about  150  feet  above  the  river ; 
at  Belle  Plaine,  about  135 ;  and  at  Jordan,  Carver,  and  Shakopee,  about  12.\ 
Wells  on  the  "sand  prairie"  near  St.  Peter  and  on  Le  Sueur  prairie  go 
through  sand  and  gravel,  sometimes  with  layers  of  clay,  to  the  depth  of  75 
or  100  feet,  finding  till  below.  At  Belle  Plaine  the  sand  and  gravel  are  about 
50  feet  deep,  underlain  by  till.  Shakopee  prairie  has  40  or  50  feet  of  this 
modified  drift,  lying  upon  limestone.  The  principal  remnant  of  these 
deposits  seen  below  Shakopee  was  a  terrace  about  75  feet  high,  %  to  y%  mile 
wide,  and  4  miles  long,  extending  through  Eagan  in  Dakota  county,  its 
north  end  being  about  2  miles  south  of  Fort  Snelling.  This  valley  was  first 
excavated  in  till,  which  rises  in  continuous  bluffs  on  each  side  50  to  100  feet 
above  these  high  plains  and  terraces  of  modified  drift.  It  was  afterward 
filled  for  60  miles  next  to  its  mouth  with  fluvial  deposits  75  to  150  feet  thick, 
sloping  about  2  feet  per  mile,  through  which  the  channel  has  been  cut  anew. 
Above  Mankato  the  valley  rarely  shows  any  similar  remnants  of  modified 
drift ;  and  those  which  are  found  appear  to  have  been  part  of  local  accumu- 
lations, rather  than  of  a  continuous  flood-plain.  Further  remarks  relating 
to  the  orgin  of  the  modified  drift  in  this  valley  are  to  be  found  in  the  descrip- 
tion, under  the  ensuing  division  of  this  report,  of  the  brick  clays  at  Chaska, 
Carver,  and  Jordan. 


51 

ECONOMIC  GEOLOGY. 

The  chief  contributions  to  the  wealth  of  Minnesota,  derived  directly  from 
geological  formations  in  this  district,  are  bricks,  lime,  and  quarried  stone. 
Explorations  made  for  coal,  its  mode  of  occurrence,  and  the  improbability 
that  it  exists  here  in  any  valuable  amount,  have  been  spoken  of  in  our 
account  of  the  cretaceous  strata.  No  ores  of  any  practical  importance  have 
been  found.  The  principal  resources  of  this  part  of  the  State  are  the  pro- 
ducts of  its  invariably  fertile  soil,  and  the  water-powers  afforded  by  many 
of  its  streams,  which,  by  using  their  lakes  for  reservoirs,  may  be  made  nearly 
uniform  in  flow  throughout  the  year. 

Bricks.  Notes  respecting  the  manufacture  of  bricks  have  been  gathered 
wherever  this  work  is  done,  and  part  of  these  are  here  presented.  The 
material  employed  is  usually  stratified  clay,  belonging  to  the  modified  drift ; 
sometimes  along  Minnesota  River  it  is  the  alluvium  now  being  deposited  at 
every  season  of  high  water ;  and  rarely,  as  at  Fergus  Falls,  the  clay  used  in 
brick-making  appears  to  be  a  true  till,  in  which  portions  quite  free  from 
gravel  can  be  selected.  The  bricks  made  from  the  recent  alluvial  clay  are 
red,  but  nearly  all  others  throughout  this  region  are  cream-colored,  this 
difference  being  due  to  the  state  of  chemical  combination  assumed  during 
the  process  of  burning  by  the  iron  which  these  clays  contain. 

The  following  statements  show  the  extent  of  this  industry  in  the  Valley 
of  Minnesota  River,  where  bricks  are  made  at  many  places,  among  which 
Chaska  leads  with  a  yearly  product  of  about  seven  millions.  The  order  is 
that  found  in  ascending  the  river. 

At  Shakopee,  Schrceder  Brothers  have  made  bricks  4  years ;  annual  pro- 
duct, 700,000,  selling  at  $5  per  M.  Alluvial  clay  is  used,  with  admixture  of 
one  part  sand  to  two  of  clay. 

At  Chaska  four  companies  are  engaged  in  this  business,  all  upon  an  area 
about  an  eighth  of  a  mile  in  extent.  This  clay  is  modified  drift  of  intergla- 
cial  age.  It  varies  from  20  to  40  feet  in  thickness,  being  underlain  by  sand 
and  covered  by  till  from  2  to  6  feet  thick,  holding  boulders  of  all  sizes  up  to 

5  or  6  feet  in  diameter,  many  of  which  are  planed  and   striated.     This  till 
forms  the  surface,  25  to  30  feet  above  the  river.     The  only  fossils  found  here 
were  fresh-water  mussel  shells,  which  occurred  in  considerable  numbers 
upon  a  space  four  rods  in  diameter  near  the  middle  of  Gregg  &  Griswold's 
excavation,  lying  in  the  upper  foot  of  the  clay,  just  beneath  the  till.     Brick- 
making  was  begun  here  twelve  years  ago,  and  has  been  steadily  increasing 
to  the  present  time.     The  first  yard  worked  has  been  now  owned  by  Gregg 

6  Griswold  six  years.     Their  yearly  product  is  about  2500  thousand,  selling 
at  $5  to  $6  per  M.     From  40  to  50  men  are  employed  for  six  months.     Sand 
is  mixed  in  varying  proportions  according  to  the  quality  of  the  clay,  the 
average  being  about  one  part  in  ten.     This  company  have  machinery  and 
room  to  make  40  thousand  bricks  daily.     L.  Warner  makes  about  two  mil- 
lions yearly,  employing  30  men.     The  proportion  of  sand  used  is  from  one- 
fourth  to  one-seventh.     Wiest  &  Kruze  make  1500  thousand  yearly,  having 
20  men.     The  two  last  yards  have  been  operated  about  8  years.     Schlafle, 
Strobach  &  Streissguth    began  three  years  ago,   and  in    1878  made  900 
thousand;  during  1879,  they  expected  to  make  three  millions,  employing 
40  men. 


52 

At  Carver  the  clay  used  occurs  50  to  90  feet  above  the  river,  as  a  stratum 
from  30  to  40  feet  thick,  overlain  and  underlain  by  sand,  being  included  in 
the  modified  drift  which  formerly  filled  this  part  of  the  valley.  It  probably 
was  deposited  during  the  retreat  of  the  ice-sheet  which  overspread  this 
region,  as  shown  by  the  interglacial  clay  at  Chaska,  after  the  valley  had 
been  excavated  between  its  bluffs  of  till.  J.  M.  Nye  &  Co.  here  make  300 
to  500  thousand  bricks  yearly ;  and  Andrew  Ahlin,  about  two-thirds  of  a 
mile  southwest  from  Carver,  has  two  yards,  his  annual  product  being  from 
one  to  one  and  a  half  millions. 

At  Jordan  Charles  Rodell  has  made  bricks  12  years,  averaging  about  500 
thousand  yearly,  and  selling  at  $6  per  M.  This  clay  deposit,  as  at  Carver, 
is  part  of  the  stratified  valley  drift.  It  is  40  feet  thick,  lying  upon  till,  and 
overlain  by  gravel  and  sand.  The  top  of  the  clay  is  about  65  feet  above  the 
river.  A  very  interesting  kind  of  ^stratification  is  shown  by  this  clay, 
which  is  bedded  in  distinct  horizontal  layers  from  3  to  8  inches  thick,  aver- 
aging 6  inches.  These  layers  are  dark  bluish,  often  finely  laminated,  chang- 
ing above  and  below  to  a  nearly  black,  more  unctuous  and  finer  clay,  which 
forms  the  partings  between  them.  These  divisions  are  clearly  seen  through 
the  whole  extent  of  Mr.  Rodell's  excavation,  which  reaches  25  feet  below 
the  top  of  the  clay  and  is  4  rods  long.  The  same  stratification  is  shown 
also  by  the  excavation  of  Nye  &  Co.  at  Carver,  where  the  exposure  is  4  rods 
long  and  15  feet  high,  except  that  here  the  layers  all  have  a  nearly  uniform 
thickness  of  3  inches.  In  this  depth  of  15  feet  there  are  thus  about  sixty 
layers,  all  exactly  alike.  The  alternating  conditions  which  produced  them 
were  evidently  repeated  sixty  times  in  uninterrupted  succession.  The  only 
explanation  for  this  which  seems  possible  is  that  these  divisions  mark  so 
many  years  occupied  by  the  deposition  of  this  clay.  It  appears  that  these 
clay-beds  are  of  limited  extent.  The  broad  flood-plain  was  mainly  built  up 
by  additions  of  fine  gravel  and  sand  spread  over  its  surface  by  floods  like 
those  which  now  occasionally  overflow  the  bottom-lands.  Clay  could  settle 
only  where  hollows  were  formed  by  inequalities  in  this  deposition  and  left 
outside  the  path  of  the  principal  current.  Now  nearly  all  the  features  of 
the  modified  drift,  as  the  general  absence  of  shells  or  other  fossils,  its  hillocks 
and  ridges  called  kames,  and  its  occurrence  only  in  glaciated  regions  or  in 
valleys  of  drainage  from  them,  indicate  that  this  formation  was  accumulated 
by  streams  discharged  from  a  melting  ice-sheet.  If  the  origin  of  the  modi- 
fied drift  that  filled  the  lower  part  of  the  Minnesota  Valley  was  from  such 
glacial  melting,  it  is  apparent  that  the  floods  would  be  greater  and  would 
bring  and  deposit  more  sediment  in  summer  than  in  winter.  Layers  nearly 
like  those  in  the  clay  at  Carver  and  Jordan  are  also  seen  in  other  clay-beds 
in  this  valley  and  in  that  of  the  Mississippi  in  this  State.  The  principal 
mass  of  each  layer  is  regarded  as  the  deposition  during  the  warm  portion  of 
a  year,  and  the  very  dark  partings  as  the  sediment  during  winter  when  the 
melting  was  less  and  the  water  consequently  less  turbid.  The  upper  part  of 
these  beds  of  clay  are  generally  colored  yellow  to  a  depth  varying  from  one 
or  two  to  ten  feet,  the  lower  portion  being  blue.  The  limit  of  the  yellow 
color  in  the  clay  at  Jordan  runs  obliquely,  being  nearly  parallel  with  the 
sloping  surface,  so  that  the  same  horizontal  layers  are  partly  blue  and  partly 
yellow,  which  shows  that  this  is  a  discoloration  by  weathering. 

At  Belle  Plaine,  Jacob  Kranz  has  made  bricks  10  years ;  annual  product, 


53 

300  thousand,  selling  at  $5  to  $6  per  M.  The  clay  used  is  recent  alluvium  of 
the  river,  with  which  he  mixes  one- sixth  as  much  sand  as  clay. 

At  Henderson  bricks  are  made  by  Herman  Matthei,  who  began  9  years 
ago,  and  now  averages  400  thousand  yearly  ;  and  by  John  Meier,  who  began 
in  1878,  and  expected  to  make  300  thousand  during  last  season.  Both  use 
recent  alluvium. 

At  LeSueur  Henry  Kruze  has  made  bricks  16  years,  using  alluvial  clay ; 
annual  product,  300  thousand.  He  mixes  one  part  of  sand  with  two  of  clay. 
J.  Wetter  also  has  made  bricks  here  8  years,  averaging  100  thousand  per 
year.  His  clay  has  a  thickness  of  5  feet,  and  is  underlain  by  sand,  the  two 
forming  a  terrace  about  100  feet  above  the  river. 

In  Oshawa,  about  one  mile  south-west  from  St.  Peter,  Matthias  Davidson 
lias  made  bricks  19  years,  using  the  recent  alluvium.  He  averages  400 
thousand  yearly,  and  sells  at  $4  to  $7  per  M. 

The  brick-making  at  Mankato  and  New  Ulm  cannot  be  here  reported.  At 
Redwood  Falls  two  kilns  of  brick,  about  200  thousand,  were  burned  by 
Bohn  &  Lamberton  in  1878.  The  clay  is  about  40  feet  above  the  top  of  the 
succession  of  falls  here  in  Redwood  river,  and  about  180  feet  above  Minne- 
sota river.  The  section  is  black  soil,  2  feet ;  yellow  clay,  dipping  slightly 
eastward,  about  7  feet ;  changing  below  to  yellowish  sand.  This  clay  is  in 
layers,  mostly  about  8  inches  thick,  divided  by  dark  partings  similar  to 
thbse  described  at  Carver  and  Jordan.  The  underlying  sand  is  in  layers 
from  34  to  1  inch  thick,  separated  by  hard  films  of  iron-rust.  Attempts  to 
make  bricks  at  Minnesota  Falls  and  Granite  Falls  have  failed,  because  of 
small  limy  concretions  in  the  clay,  causing  them  to  crack  in  burning.  Bricks 
in  this  region  command  $8  per  M. 

At  Montevideo,  Nils  Swennungson  has  made  bricks  two  years;  annual 
product,  60  thousand,  selling  at  $6  to  $10  per  M.  This  clay  is  on  the  general 
level  of  the  upland,  100  feet  above  the  river.  The  section  is  soil,  1>£  feet; 
yellow  clay,  used  for  brick-making,  3  feet ;  clayey  sand,  6  inches  ;  with  clay 
containing  limy  concretions  below. 

At  Big  Stone  City  in  Dakota,  opposite  Ortonville,  Tobias  Oehler  began 
brick-making  this  year  (1879).  The  clay  is  nearly  like  that  of  Montevideo. 
During  this  season  he  made  240  thousand,  selling  at  $12  per  M. 

Brief  notes  of  this  production  in  counties  north  of  the  Minnesota  river 
are  the  following,  arranged  in  their  order  from  south-east  to  north-west :  ^ 
mile  west  of  Dayton,  in  Otsego,  Wright  county,  by  Medor  Arseno,  about 
250  M.  yearly,  at  $7  to  $8  per  M.;  at  Cokato,  Wright  county,  by  James 
Runions,  300  M.  yearly,  for  six  years,  at  $8,  the  clay  now  nearly  exhausted ; 
2  miles  north  of  Hutchinson,  McLeod  county,  by  W.  H.  Wyman,  100  M. 
yearly,  at  $7  to  $8 ;  3  miles  north-east  from  Litchfield,  Meeker  county,  by 
Henry  Ames,  500  M.  yearly  at  $7 ;  at  the  north-west  side  of  Nest  lake  in 
New  London,  Kandiyohi  county,  by  Peter  Larson,  Jr.,  200  to  300  M.  yearly, 
at  $8  to  $10 ;  at  DeGraff,  Swift  county,  300  M.  were  made  in  1877,  selling  at 
$10 -per  M.;  at  Glenwood,  Pope  county,  by  John  Aiton,  150  to  300  M.  yearly, 
at  $7  to  $10 ;  l^-o  miles  north-east  of  Alexandria,  Douglas  county,  by  John 
A.  McKay,  500  M.  yearly,  at  $6  to  $10 ;  3  miles  south-west  of  Alexandria,  in 
sec.  2,  Lake  Mary  township,  by  Mark  Bundy,  75  M.  yearly ;  ^  mile  north- 
west of  Evansville  station,  Douglas  county,  by  Richard  Partridge,  about  40 
M.  yearly  at  $10  ;  about  3  miles  west  of  Parker's  Prairie,  Otter  Tail  county, 


54 

by  Henry  Asseln,  100  M.  in  1878,  at  $7  to  $10 ;  at  Fergus  Falls,  by  J.  A. 
Nelson  &  Brothers,  100  M.  formerly,  600  M.  this  year  (1879),  at  about  $8  ; 
3  miles  west  of  Fergus  Falls,  by  S.  R.  Childs,  150  M.  this  year ;  at  Detroit, 
Becker  county,  by  Shaw  &  Martin,  about  200  M.  yearly  at  $8  ;  and  at  Moor- 
head,  by  Lamb  Brothers,  2500  M.  yearly,  at  $6,  and  by  Kruegel  &  Truitt, 
1200  M.  yearly.  Additional  details  respecting  this  work  and  these  and 
other  deposits  of  clay  adapted  for  brick-making,  will  be  given  in  the  final 
report. 

Lime.  The  abundance  or  frequent  occurrence  of  boulders  and  pebbles  of 
rnagnesian  limestone  in  the  drift  of  this  entire  district,  has  been  mentioned 
in  describing  that  formation.  The  same  stone,  more  finely  pulverized,  is 
one  of  the  most  important  ingredients  of  our  sand  and  clay  also,  being  a 
principal  cause  of  the  great  fertility  of  the  soil  throughout  all  these  coun- 
ties. A  large  part  of  the  lime  used  for  building,  except  along  or  near  the 
lower  Minnesota  river,  has  been  derived  from  the  drift,  its  limestone  bould- 
ers being  gathered  upon  rocky,  morainic  areas,  or  about  shallow  lakes, 
where  the  expansion  of  the  ice  in  winters  has  slowly  pushed  these  and  other 
rock-fragments  outward  to  the  shore.  A  little  ridge  of  gravel  and  boulders 
is  thus  frequently  heaped  to  a  height  varying  from  four  to  eight  feet  above 
the  lake.  In  nearly  every  county  several  of  the  early  settlers  have  availed 
themselves  of  this  resource,  constructing  small  kilns  and  burning  from  50 
to  200  barrels  of  lime  yearly,  according  to  the  demand  in  their  vicinity. 
This  lime  is  usually  of  excellent  quality,  contains  little  sand,  and  is  white, 
or  sometimes  cream-colored.  We  have  a  large  list  of  these  lime-burners, 
but  can  mention  here  only  those  who  do  a  permanent  and  considerable 
business,  as  follow:  at  Dayton,  Levi  Guier,  burning  about  500  barrels  of 
lime  yearly,  sold  at  $1  per  barrel ;  in  Greenleaf ,  Meeker  county,  Lewis 
Maher,  from  100  to  300  barrels  yearly,  at  $1.50;  near  Beaver  Falls,  Renville 
county,  John  Edget,  R.  R.  Corey,  and  several  others,  each  about  100  barrels 
yearly,  at  $1.50;  at  Minnesota  Falls,  Simon  Christiansen  and  W.  C.  Darby, 
each  300  barrels  yearly,  at  $1. 50  ;  one  mile  north  of  Ortonville,  Alfred  Knowl- 
ton,  500  barrels  this  year  at  $1.25  ;  farther  north-west,  beside  Big  Stone  lake, 
Jacob  Hurley,  E.  T.  Hanes,  and  William  H.  Bowman,  selling  yearly  from  150 
to  300  barrels  each,  at  $1.25;  at  Donnelly,  Stevens  county,  Joseph  Meier,  300 
to  400  barrels  yearly,  at  $1.25 ;  in  Evansville,  Douglas  county,  Partridge 
Brothers,  250  barrels  yearly,  at  $1.25 ;  in  Leaf  Mountain  and  Clitherall, 
Otter  Tail  county,  Orris  Albertson  and  others,  200  barrels  or  more  yearly,  at 
$1.25  ;  at  Fergus  Falls,  J.  A.  Nelson  &  Brothers,  and  E.  Barbeau,  each 
about  500  barrels  yearly,  at  $1 ;  in  south  part  of  Oscar,  Otter  Tail  county, 
Peter  Carlson,  about  400  barrels  yearly,  at  $1;  in  Eglon,  Clay  county, 
Nils  Larson,  from  75  to  250  barrels  yearly,  at  $1 ;  and  at  Detroit  and  White 
Earth  Agency,  Becker  county,  Shaw&  Martin,  500  barrels  yearly,  at  $1.50. 

Limestone  in  fragments  and  pulverized  is  so  large  an  ingredient  of  the 
drift  that  all  percolating  waters  become  more  or  less  charged  with  carbonate 
of  lime  in  solution.  The  soft  rain-water  is  thus  changed  to  hard  water 
before  it  finds  its  way  into  wells  or  issues  in  springs.  The  limestone  which 
the  water  has  taken  up  forms  a  scale  on  the  inside  of  tea-kettles  and  the 
boilers  of  engines ;  and  similarly,  because  of  exposure  to  the  open  air  and 
evaporation,  it  is  occasionally  deposited  by  springs  as  an  incrustation  of 
moss,  leaves,  or  other  objects,  or  as  a  porous  bed  upon  the  surface  of  springy 


55 

ground.  Interesting  springs  of  this  kind  occur  near  Carver,  Glenwood,  and 
Big  Stone  City.  Their  calcareous  deposit  is  commonly  called  "petrified 
moss,"  from  the  fact  that  it  becomes  covered  with  growing  moss,  the  lower 
part  of  which  is  being  slowly  encrusted  and  its  form  preserved  by  this 
accumulation.  It  is  usually  a  light  gray,  very  porous  mass,  less  than  a  foot 
thick,  and  mixed  with  earth  and  foreign  matter ;  but  in  two  places  more 
massive  deposits  of  .this  origin  are  found,  which  appear  to  have  a  value  for 
the  manufacture  of  lime.  One  of  these,  occurring  in  the  N.  E.  ^  of  sec 
26  and  south  part  of  sec.  23,  Tunsburg,  Chippewa  county,  has  been  consider- 
ably burned  for  lime  by  E.  R.  Harkness,  who  states  that  it  yields  a  nearly 
pure,  white  lime,  fully  as  strong  as  that  of  boulders.  It  here  forms  a  nearly 
level  layer  2  to  3  feet  thick,  extending  fully  a  half  mile  as  shown  by  frequent 
exposures  upon  the  side  of  the  bluff  of  till  north-east  of  the  Chippewa  river. 
Only  its  south-east  portion  is  adapted  for  lime-burning,  the  rest  being  grav- 
elly. It  appears  to  mark  a  line  at  which  springs  issued  because  of  impervi- 
ous beds  above  or  below  it.  These  springs  are  now  partly  intercepted  by  a 
tributary  ravine  30  rods  north-east,  in  which  "petrified  moss"  is  forming 
along  a  distance  of  about  an  eighth  of  a  mile,  at  a  height  of  three  to  six  feet 
above  the  rill.  About  twenty-five  miles  south-east  from  this,  in  the  N.  W. 
)£  of  section  22,  south  township  of  Hawk  Creek,  Renville  county,  a  nearly 
compact  calcareous  deposit,  containing  impressions  of  leaves  and  sticks,  is 
exposed  for  six  to  eight  feet  vertically  in  two  masses  four  rods  apart,  on  the 
south  side  of  a  ravine  about  fifty  feet  deep.  It  was  probably  formed  by 
springs  when  this  ravine  was  first  channelled  out,  shortly  after  the  glacial 
period. 

Cretaceous  strata  in  the  vicinity  of  New  (Jim,  and  the  Shakopee  limstone 
in  the  lower  Minnesota  valley,  yield  the  most  important  supplies  of  lime 
derived  from  this  district.  The  only  kiln  burning  Cretaceous  limestone 
north  of  Minnesota  river  and  therefore  within  the  limit  of  this  district,  is 
John  Heymann's,  about  a  half  mile  north  of  Redstone.  His  yearly  product  is 
from  1,000  to  1,500  barrels,  sold  at  $1  per  barrel.  The  section  is  soil,  2  feet; 
drift  gravel,  \%  feet;  cavernous,  nodular,  gray  limestone,  2  feet;  green  clay 
with  layers  of  red,  2  feet;  and  limestone  as  above,  2  feet;  said  to  be  under- 
lain by  clays  and  shales.  These  beds  form  a  terrace  about  35  feet  above  the 
river.  Other  kilns  burning  lime  from  this  formation  are  situated  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  river.  This  lime  is  strong  and  sets  quickly,  making  a 
white  plaster;  except  that  it  commonly  includes  a  little  clay,  it  is  quite  pure, 
having  no  magnesia  or  sand. 

The  Shakopee  limestone  gives  a  very  dark  lime,  which  slacks  to  a  brown 
or  cream  color.  It  is  magnesian,  with  a  little  admixture  of  sand,  and  is 
burned  more  easily,  slacks  with  less  heat,  and  sets  more  slowly,  than  pure 
lime.  It  is  preferred  by  masons  for  brick  and  stone  work,  and  for  plastering 
except  the  finishing  coat.  The  following  notes  were  gathered  respecting  the 
manufacture  of  lime  from  this  formation.  At  Shakopee,  J.  B.  Conter  burns 
15,000  barrels  yearly,  selling  it  at  Saint  Paul  and  Minneapolis  for  55  cents 
per  barrel  of  200  pounds.  The  section  hers  is  limestone,  obscurely  and  irreg- 
ularly bedded,  yielding  leather-  colored  lime,  6  to  8  feet;  a  lighter-colored 
calcareous  sandstone,  divided  in  beds  about  8  inches  thick,  somewhat  used 
for  building  stone,  2  feet;  limestone  nearly  as  above,  in  irregular  beds  from 
a  few  inches  to  one  foot  thick,  yielding  a  very  dark,  blackish  lime,  12  feet. 


56 

The  stratification  is  nearly  level ;  but  all  the  beds  are  more  or  less  fractured, 
porous  and  cavernous,  with  different  colors  in  the  same  layer  a  rod  apart. 
The  color  throughout  is  buff  of  various  shades  approaching  pink,  yellow, 
and  brown.  The  top  of  the  quarry  is  about  50  feet  above  the  river,  and  this 
formation  extends  below  to  the  water's  edge.  Mr.  Center  also  burns  about 
15,000  barrels  of  lime  yearly  at  a  quarry  5  miles  to  the  south-west  in  Louis- 
ville. This  limestone  is  nearly  like  that  at  Shakopee.  It  is  arenaceous,  but 
shows  no  continuous  layer  of  sandstone.  At  Ottawa,  Charles  Schwartz 
burns  about  400  barrels  of  lime  yearly  for  the  demand  in  his  vicinity,  selling 
at  60  cents  per  barrel.  At  Caroline,  in  sec.  17,  Kasota,  Conrad  Smith  burns 
6,000  barrels  yearly,  selling  at  55  cents  per  barrel.  A  third  of  a  mile  south- 
east from  the  last,  George  C.  Clapp  has  burned  lime  20  years,  averaging 
2,000  barrels  yearly,  but  has  done  nothing  in  this  business  during  the  last 
two  years.  The  last  three  use  only  the  upper  2  to  5  feet  of  the  limestone 
terrace  at  these  places.  A  large  amount  of  lime  is  also  burned  from  the 
Shakopee  limestone  in  Mankato,  which  is  not  included  in  this  report. 

The  St.  Lawrence  limestone  in  sec.  13,  Jessenland,  Sibley  county,  has  been 
used  for  lime-burning  by  Herman  Matthei,  brick-maker  at  Henderson. 
Five  kilns  of  small  size  were  burned  here  last  year,  but  the  stone  is  now 
teamed  to  Henderson  before  burning.  The  lime  brings  60  cents  per  barrel. 

Quarried  Stone.  The  formations  which  are  quarried  in  the  valley  of  Min- 
nesota river  for  building  stone,  foundations,  bridge  masonry,  or  similar  uses, 
are  the  quartzyte  at  Bedstone,  and  the  three  members  of  the  Lower  Magne- 
sian  group.  The  granite  and  gneiss  of  the  upper  Minnesota  valley  have  not 
yet  been  worked  to  any  considerable  extent,  but  will  probably  furnish  valu- 
able quarries  for  the  general  market  when  a  demand  is  created  by  the  more 
complete  settlement  and  increasing  wealth  of  that  region.  Cretaceous  sand- 
stone, as  previously  mentioned,  has  been  quarried  slightly  for  culverts  and 
cellar- walls  in  Courtland,  8  and  11  miles  south-east  from  New  Ulm ;  but 
the  business  is  now  discontinued  or  very  small. 

In  the  quartzyte  at  Redstone  quarries  are  owned  by  Francis  Baasen, 
about  30  rods  south-east  from  the  railroad-bridge,  who  formerly  quarried 
$200  worth  of  stone  yearly,  but  none  for  three  years  past ;  William  Winkel- 
mann,  a  few  rods  farther  east,  quarrying  only  for  his  own  use  in  building ; 
Frederick  Meierding,  a  little  farther  east,  now  selling  $100  worth  yearly, 
formerly  about  $400  yearly ;  Gottlieb  Arndt,  one-fifth  mile  north-east  from 
last,  with  annual  sales  from  $50  to  $300  ;  and  Joseph  Reinhart,  close  east  of 
the  last,  selling  little  now,  formerly  $300  worth  per  year.  Only  rough  stone 
of  small  dimension  is  obtained,  bringing  from  $2  to  $3  per  cord. 

Quarries  in  the  limestone  at  St.  Lawrence  are  owned  by  Abraham  Bisson 
and  Philip  Corbel,  both  renting  to  others  the  privilege  to  quarry  for  50  cents  a 
cord.  The  stone  is  sold  at  $3  or  $3.50  per  cord,  the  first  of  these  quarries 
supplying  fifty  cords  yearly  and  the  second  about  twenty  cords  yearly.  The 
sales  for  stone  work  from  the  quarries  in  Faxon  and  Jessenland  are  still 
smaller.  Of  this  limestone  at  Hebron,  in  the  south  part  of  Nicollet  town- 
ship, quarries  are  owned,  in  order  from  east  to  west,  by  Abel  Keene,  Wil- 
liam J.  Phillips,  William  H.  Thurston,  and  Mrs.  J.  H.  Dunham.  Some  of 
these  are  rented  at  50  cents  per  cord.  The  stone  is  sold  for  $3  per  cord,  and 
the  extent  of  sales  at  each  quarry  varies  from  $100  to  $300  yearly.  Judson, 
opposite  to  Hebron,  has  other  small  quarries  in  this  formation. 


57 

The  Jordan  sandstone  is  quarried  at .  Jordan  by  Frank  Nicolin  and  Philip 
Kipp.  It  lies  in  beds  from  eight  inches  to  two  or  three  feet  thick.  Mr. 
Nicolin's  flour-mill  at  this  place,  built  of  this  stone,  is  60  by  70  feet  in  area 
and  75  feet  high,  in  six  stories,  having  its  walls  5  feet  thick  at  the  base  and 
20  inches  at  the  top.  Besides  this  structure,  which  was  erected  in  1878  and 
1879,  Mr.  Nicolin's  quarry  has  within  three  years  supplied  $2000  worth  of 
stone,  sold  to  the  Minneapolis  &  St.  Louis  railroad  for  bridge  masonry  and 
to  other  purchasers.  Mr.  Kipp's  quarry,  opened  this  year,  has  supplied 
about  $200  worth,  at  $3.75  per  cord.  Foss,  Wells  &  Co.  also  quarried  this 
stone  to  build  their  mill  and  elevator. 

The  limestone  at  Shakopee  is  too  much  seamed  and  fractured  and  too 
irregularly  bedded  for  use  as  a  building  stone.  In  ascending  the  river, 
quarries  where  stone  is  obtained  from  this  formation  for  building  purposes 
are  found  in  Louisville,  Ottawa,  St.  Peter,  Kasota,  and  Mankato,  the  two 
last  places  having  the  largest  business.  This  work  at  Mankato  we  cannot 
report.  Opposite  to  this  city,  in  Belgrade,  three  quarries  on  the  land  of 
John  Q.  A.  Marsh  and  brother  are  rented  mostly  to  Dennis  Sullivan  and 
John  Duffee,  who  pay  50  cents  per  cord,  selling  at  about  $2  per  cord  for 
rough  stone.  A  little  further  west,  Andrew  M.  Wiemar  owns  a  quarry 
opened  last  year.  He  supplies  dimension  stone,  rough  or  hammered.  The 
rock  of  these  quarries  is  evenly  colored  and  compact,  in  thick  beds,  and  can 
supply  blocks  5  by  4  by  2  feet,  or  slabs  8  feet  long.  Details  of  the  other 
places  are  given  in  the  order  mentioned. 

In  Louisville,  Mrs.  M.  A.  Spencer  owns  a  quarry  which  has  been  worked 
15  years,  with  annual  sales  from  $200  to  $950.  This  stone  is  in  layers  from 
1  to  3  feet  thick,  hard  and  compact,  except  that  small  cavities  sometimes 
occur  in  it.  It  has  been  used  for  much  of  the  bridge  masonry  of  Scott  and 
Carver  counties,  including  the  railroad-bridges  at  Chaska  and  Carver. 

At  Ottawa  quarries  are  owned  by  Levi  Case,  John  R.  Clark,  Robert  Todd, 
John  S.  Randall,  Robert  Winegar,  and  Kasper  Mader.  The  annual  product 
is  from  50  to  300  cords  from  each,  sold  at  $1  to  $2.50  per  cord.  The  stone 
here  is  in  layers  from  a  few  inches  to  one  foot  thick.  It  is  sold  mostly  for 
use  within  10  or  15  miles  to  wall  cellars  and  wells,  little  being  sent  away  on 
the  cars. 

At  St.  Peter  the  stone  is  thinly  bedded  as  at  Ottawa,  except  in  the  Asylum 
quarry,  where  it  lies  in  massive  beds  1  to  4  feet  thick.  This  quarry  has  been 
worked  principally  for  the  Asylum  buildings.  The  other  quarries  are  owned 
or  worked  by  Jacob  Bauer,  Hugh  Brogan,  Ubalt  Drenttel,  John  Malgren, 
and  Henry  Miller.  Their  annual  product  is  50  to  200  cords  each,  selling 
at  $1.50  to  $3  per  cord. 

Kasota  has  the  best  quarries  found  in  this  limestone  within  our  limits. 
It  is  in  beds  from  6  inches  to  2)^  feet  thick,  pinkish  buff  in  color,  uniform 
in  its  texture,  easily  cut  into  any  desired  form,  and  durable  under  exposure 
to  the  weather.  The  most  extensive  business  here  is  that  of  Breen  &  Young, 
who  lease  from  Stewart,  Breckenridge  &  Butters.  They  employ  35  men 
and  3  teams  at  quarrying  and  loading  upon  the  cars,  the  product  in  1879 
being  worth  $15,000  as  rough  stone  ;  it  is  dressed  after  reaching  their  shops 
in  Saint  Paul  and  Minneapolis,  which  brings  their  sales  per  year  to  about 
$30,000.  The  largest  stone  ever  shipped  by  them  weighed  10  tons,  its 
dimensions  in  feet  being  14  by  8  by  1.  Their  quarry  can  supply  blocks  of 


58 

large  size  and  2  or  2>£  feet  thick ;  slabs,  as  for  cemetery  borders,  20  feet 
long  ;  and  flag-stones  10  or  12  feet  square  and  eight  inches  thick.  Examples 
of  the  stone  from  this  quarry  are  the  residence  of  H.  J.  Willing,  of  the  firm 
of  Field,  Leiter  &  Co.,  in  Chicago  ;  the  First  Baptist  Church  in  Saint  Paul ; 
trimmings  of  the  High  School  Building  in  Minneapolis  ;  and  trimmings  of 
the  State  Prison  in  Stillwater.  The  only  other  quarry  at  this  place  is 
owned  by  J.  W.  Babcock,  whose  yearly  sales  are  from  $5,000  to  $10,000. 
He  has  used  stone  to  cut  up  which  formed  an  unbroken  sheet  60  feet  long. 
Examples  from  this  quarry  are  the  trimmings  of  Odd  Fellows'  Hall  in  Saint 
Paul,  and  of  Plymouth  Church  in  Minneapolis. 


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